Crisis management in France and Germany
Taken aback by the crisis, France and Germany will not act in concert to try to find a suitable answer and respond to common economic problems. Once president in exercise of the EU, Nicolas Sarkozy would have preferred a European front; The German Chancellor differed. Therefore, France and Germany took respective measures as they saw fit. These are similar, however: guarantees to investors and banks, short-term incentives for investment, help to maintain the purchasing power. These measures strengthen the public debt, which absorption is delayed. Nevertheless, the question arises whether Germany and France have the same strengths to cope with the crises, and whether, despite French-German initiatives on the eve of the G20 summit, Europe had no interest in a united front.
