The backing was a victory for Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, striking a more conciliatory tone as he seeks new conditions on debt from creditors who rescued Greece's economy to save the shared euro currency.
Worries have mounted that Greece's new far left government might not pay back its debts.
Varoufakis is also visiting London and Rome and in a sign that his government may be trying to avoid a collision course with key creditors, he said yesterday that he would visit Berlin and Frankfurt as well.
Varoufakis insisted that Greece wants to pay the money back, but said he wants new terms and new negotiating partners, arguing that it's not worth discussing with the technocrats from the so-called "troika" of creditors who set the strict terms for Greece's rescue.
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France's Socialist leadership, whose president has campaigned against austerity, presented itself yesterday as a possible "link" between Greece and creditors.
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin insisted his country wouldn't support cancelling the debt, but offered backing for a new timeframe or terms.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his new government have worried financial markets and German and other European officials by pushing to scrap painful budget cuts and rethinking the debt. Tsipras sought to calm worries Saturday after days of increasingly heated discussions, and he too is heading to European capitals for talks in the coming days.
Greek government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis said yesterday's meeting in Paris "proves that the positions of the Greek government are now finding fertile ground in Europe."