I believe Germany's unemployment is 10.9.
France's is 9.9
Their economies already suck. They are just looking for something to take the citizens eyes off their main troubles.
Once you make a big enough case of your enemy, and you start to sell the people on their need for "liberty" from America and then you move all your problems on these American untermensch and start to educate your people towards great sacrifice to bring back you "glory" from those evil Americans. Watch it happen, not over night like most here expect but over a set of years.
By the way, in one of my articles that I posted, you can note that they are now using 5 year plans.