France not ruling out debt issuance with limited group of countries - presidency

PARIS (Reuters) - France could consider debt issuance initiatives with a small group of euro zone countries in future if there is no unanimity within the bloc, a French presidency official said on Wednesday.

"Let's be very clear: That's not our wish. It's better to do this collectively in a euro zone format", the official told reporters when asked about a proposal by former European Commissioner Pascal Lamy to bypass German opposition to joint euro zone debt issuance.

"But the question is posed for the future about whether a certain number of things can be done in a smaller format in terms of solidarity, even issuance," the official said.

European Union finance ministers failed to agree overnight on more support for their coronavirus-hit economies, and their chairman said on Wednesday morning that he was suspending the discussions until Thursday.

(Reporting by Michel Rose; Writing by Matthieu Protard; Editing by Hugh Lawson)