France's National Front reaffirms anti-euro stance

PARIS (Reuters) - France's National Front is sticking to its opposition to the euro, its secretary general said on Sunday after top officials met to discuss the party's strategy ahead of next year's presidential race. Criticism of the National Front's anti-euro stance has been growing among party officials, who fear the position is a key reason the party is failing to turn growing popularity into election victories. "We must restore a currency that is a tool of our economy," National Front Secretary General Nicolas Bay told iTele news channel. "We have a system that is not viable, which is against our interests, we have a trade balance with a deficit of tens of billions of euros, it would obviously be in our interest to have a weaker currency," he said. Bay said the party would not impose a sudden exit of the euro zone and that the matter would be submitted to a referendum. In a statement the party said that the main lines of policy had been reaffirmed at the meeting, including national, economic and monetary sovereignty. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Stephen Powell)