'A debt can be erased, but the decisions that created it always have to be paid for in one way or another'
Senior News Editor - Tomas Kauer 
Hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has introduced the public debt issue into the presidential election campaign by proposing to cancel part of it. The proposal is legally fragile and does not address France's persistent budget deficit, writes Le Monde columnist Stéphane Lauer.
