国际英语新闻：French parliament passes Greek aid plan

According to the official estimation, helping Greece would raise the French public deficit to 152 billion euros in late 2010, but the French government has pledged to rein in its rising deficit.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced Thursday that the government is to "freeze" public spending in 2011, 2012 and 2013. The public expenditure will rise no more excluding the debts interest and the pension cost in the next three years, he said.

The parliament of Germany, another big contributor of European aid package, is also expected to pass legislation by Friday to legalize its share to bail out Greece.

Greece was exposed to the financial crisis since last October when its new Socialist government raised the state's 2009 deficit forecast. To date, the Hellenic Republic is facing a huge debt of more than 300 billion euros. (1 euro = 1.26 U.S. dollars)