Large industrial countries gathered in Cannes expressed relief at Greece's decision to scrap a referendum on a European bailout plan.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced on November 3 that he would not follow through on his proposal to ask voters whether they would approve Europe's plan to rescue Greece's economy.

If the deal had been voted down, Greece might have been forced out of the 17-nation euro bloc, and the country could have defaulted on its debts to banks.  The Papandreou government could have fallen as well.

Now the G20 leaders will focus on the original intent of the Cannes summit -strengthening the global economy.  The summit host, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said extra meetings took place late November 3 to look for solutions to Europe's debt crisis.

Shortly after he arrived in France, President Barack Obama held private meetings with Mr. Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led the effort to keep Greece's debt from spreading through Europe.

After meeting with his French counterpart, Mr. Obama said his top priority for the summit was to help Europe push ahead with its recent deal to help Greece.

G20 leaders were expected to hold more meetings on November 4 on Europe's economy and the global economy.