Lagarde says French exposure to Madoff unclear

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - French banking exposure to the alleged fraud by Bernard Madoff is still unclear and is being calculated, the country's economy minister, Christine Lagarde, said on Monday.

"We are trying to ascertain what exactly is the extent of the exposure -- what is the extent of direct exposure and the extent of indirect exposure," Lagarde told reporters at the European Parliament.

"For the time being, I don't, for example, believe they are of the same nature as, for example, at the Spanish banks," she said.

When the exposure has been determined, France will then see whether aid it has given to shore up its banking sector needs to be looked at again.

"Before worrying, I want to know exactly how deep the hole is," Lagarde said.

French bank BNP Paribas and Spanish peer Santander detailed potential losses on Sunday. Shares of BNP and French bank Natixis fell on Monday amid concerns about the worldwide scandal.

More than $10 billion in indirect and direct exposure to Madoff, a 70-year-old Wall Street veteran who was arrested on Thursday, have been announced by financial institutions around the world.

(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by John Wallace)