Greek Finance Minister and former Sydneysider Yanis Varoufakis is in London on Monday for talks with his British counterpart George Osborne about renegotiating his country’s A$350 Billion bailout.  The Germans vehemently oppose this, but Yanis got some backing elsewhere in Europe.

“France is more than prepared to support Greece,” said France’s Finance Minister Michel Sapin at a joint news conference, while also making it clear that debt relief isn’t on the agenda.  “Greece needs time to put things to work,” Sapin added.

Varoufakis says Greece will not accept the next US$7 Billion tranche of the bailout from the troika of the European Union, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund, because in doing so Athens would have to accept and adhere to more austerity measures.  And the new government has already started rolling back that stuff.

“It’s not that we don't need the money; we’re desperate,” Yanis said at the same news conference Paris.  “What this government is all about is ending this addiction.”

And although America isn’t officially part of the equation, US President Barack Obama can appreciate France’s point of view of the Greek question.

“You cannot keep on squeezing countries that are in the midst of depression,” Mr. Obama said.  “At some point, there has to be a growth strategy in order for them to pay off their debts to eliminate some of their deficits.”