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In the days leading up to the announcement of the draft budget for 2008, France's Prime Minister Francois Fillon has been issuing a host of warnings about the "critical" state of the nation's finances and calling for more belt-tightening. He even went so far as to say France was in a "situation of bankruptcy". But analysts see the remarks as an opener for the bruising political battle ahead, when the government's draft budget is expected to show a deficit of 41.5 billion euros (58.5 billion dollars) for the next year. An AFPTV voiced report.