Sentence:  He said France clearly wanted to "close one page and open another". He reiterated his opposition to <WSD>austerity</WSD> alone as the only way out of Europe's crisis: "My final duty, and I know I'm being watched from beyond our borders, is to put Europe back on the path of growth and employment." 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A policy of deficit-cutting, which by definition requires lower spending, higher taxes, or both.