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I think the main point, and one I have made before, is that France (Sarko-Hollande) hung on to Germany to stay within the safe zone on interest rates. When we were daily watching the Bund spreads, France remained at a very low spread and at historically low real rates. Following a pusillanimous strategy, which harms other countries of the Union, while making feeble noises that France is on the side of growth, is indeed hypocritical.

Where I don't follow Piketty is when he says that French leaders spend their time blaming Germany. I don't think that is perceptible, at least at the level of public discourse - where, on the contrary, any attempt to discuss German attitudes to debt is immediately branded as Germanophobia (or Montebourg Madness).

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Jan 5th, 2015 at 05:41:56 AM EST
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Greece spooks investors back to German bonds - The Local
French and German borrowing rates reached new all-time lows on Tuesday amid fears over the prospect of Greece leaving the eurozone.

 As of 0830 GMT, France's 10-year debt hit 0.772 percent on the secondary market, while the German 10-year Bund fell to 0.484 percent.

"Factors causing the recent risk-off mode are unlikely to fade rapidly," BNP Paribas analysts said in a note.

"Greece and the question of QE (stimulus) are keeping bond markets nervous," it said, adding that the anxiety is likely to persist through January.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Jan 6th, 2015 at 03:05:37 PM EST
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