PARIS, Sept 23, 2007 (AFP) - European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet said Sunday that France's public finances were in 'very great difficulty' with the worst public spending to output ratio in the European Union.

'I would say that French public finances are in very great difficulty,' Trichet said in an interview on Europe 1 radio.

FRANKFURT, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - Any change in eurozone interest rates would depend on calm returning to international financial markets and a firm sense of how much recent turmoil had affected them, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said Friday.

'The financial market volatility and reappraisal of risk of recent weeks have led to an increase in uncertainty,' the European Central Bank chief told fellow central bankers a day after the ECB left its main eurozone interest rate stable at 4.0 percent.

FRANKFURT, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet stressed Thursday that liquidity injections by the ECB to calm nervous banks were completely separate from its monetary policy decisions.

Trichet told media after the ECB announced more infusions of cash into the euro banking system that the bank had to ensure money markets could function correctly, but that it had no bearing on interest rate decisions and the main ECB goal of price stability.

FRANKFURT, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - The European Central Bank is leaving open the option of a further rise in interest rates to keep a lid on inflation, but will wait to assess the impact of the current turmoil on the financial markets before deciding when to act, the bank's president indicated Thursday.

ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet told a news conference after the bank's regular monthly rate-setting meeting that inflationary dangers persisted in the 13 countries that share the euro and that growth outlook for the region remained 'favourable.'

FRANKFURT, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Thursday left the door open for further increases in eurozone interest rates, saying that the bank's monetary policy remained 'on the accommodative side.'

The ECB's interest rates 'still remain on accommodative side,' Trichet said after the bank held its benchmark 'refi' refinancing rate steady at 4.00 percent.

The ECB chief promised that the bank, known as the guardian of the euro, would act 'in a firm and timely manner' to ensure price stability in the 13-country zone.

FRANKFURT, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) - European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said Tuesday that money market conditions were returning to normal and called on investors to keep their 'composure' in the face of volatility.

'We are now seeing money market conditions that have gone progressively back to normal,' he said in a statement.

'As I did after our last meeting, I call on all parties concerned to continue to keep their composure. This attitude has been welcome and effective in recent days.'