欧债危机之法国沦陷.docVIP

FOR the second time in as many weeks, President Nicolas Sarkozy flew to Paris for the day from his holiday spot on France’s Mediterranean coast to try to calm the markets. His meeting with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, at the Elysée Palace on August 16th took place as the panic of recent weeks had given way to mere gloom about the stagnating euro-zone economy. But France itself remains under close scrutiny, after dramatic drops in the share prices of some French banks last week (see article) and rumours that the country might lose its cherished AAA credit rating. Just eight months before an uncertain presidential election, and with a tough 2012 budget to finalise, Mr Sarkozy faces the delicate task of squaring his electoral needs with the concerns of investors. At their meeting the leaders of the euro zone’s two biggest economies came up with only timid ideas. They proposed that heads of government of the 17 countries that use the currency should meet twice a year, a first step to institutionalising the “economic government” of the euro so craved by Mr Sarkozy. They suggested that all members introduce “golden rules”: constitutional clauses limiting budget deficits. (Germany already has one, Italy has pledged to introduce one and Mr Sarkozy wants one for France.) There was more talk of tax harmonisation, better budget co-ordination and a tax on financial transactions. But the pair ruled out any immediate plans for Eurobonds—“one day, perhaps”, mused Mr Sarkozy—and rejected any enlargement of the euro zone’s bail-out fund. It was one thing to try to hold the euro together from a position of relative strength in the core. But growth is now faltering in both Germany and France, which together account for half of euro-zone GDP. Figures this week showed that Germany’s quarterly economic growth slowed in the second quarter of 2011 to 0.1% of GDP. France failed to grow at all. Of the six AAA-rated countries in the euro zone, France looks the shakiest (see chart). B