France seeks bank credit to help protect the franc

France called for international aid to prop up the ailing franc, announcing that it will seek a $4 billion standby credit from a consortium of banks.

President Francois Mitterrand said France would employ all means available to defend the currency, and speculators ''cannot hope to see France devalue its currency in any way whatsoever.

French foreign exchange reserves fell sharply recently as France struggled to prevent the franc from crashing to its lowest permitted level against the West German mark.