France 'breaks EU pact again'

CNN ^ | 08/27/03 | reuters

[Pikamax]

PARIS, France (Reuters) --French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will ask the European Commission for leniency on its public finances on Wednesday, knowing the 2003 budget deficit could be greater than first thought, a newspaper reported.

French daily Les Echos said France had also given up on the goal of bringing its deficit back under the euro zone limit of three percent of gross domestic product in 2004, meaning it will have broken the Stability and Growth Pact three years running.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

By now, everyone should know that being friends with the French ain't easy.

[Semper Vigilantis]

"French daily Les Echos said France had also given up..."
Now there's a surprise.

[akorahil]

I wonder, what would happen if the rest of the EU DIDN'T grant them absolution in this matter?

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Probably nothing. Germany is near the same shape. Any EU dictate would probably be like the dictate of the Small Claims Court, unenforceable. France would simply go her merry way, pretending to be the big cheese (pun intended) on the block while ignoring all the rules except when imposed on others.