France:

With the onslaught of global financial crisis, French economy currently has a tougher and more difficult time and, in fact, French economy has been hitting a "red light zone" in all sense.

French lawmakers in late October 2008 approved a huge 360 billion-euro rescue package to bail out banks, which were severely affected the credit crisis. In early December last year, President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled a 26 billion euro stimulus plan for the faltering economy. France weighs support program for ailing automakers and on Jan. 20 decided to pump 5-6 billion euro (up to US$7.79 billion) for troubled automakers. Moreover, France also plans to input 175 billion euro in science, technology, environmental protection and other spheres over the next three years.

To date, France's total debts have amounted to 1.3 trillion euro with an average of 20,000 euro per capita. It has been estimated that France would have a deficit of 5.4 percent of GDP this year. Its GDP rose by 0.7 percent in 2008 and is expected to contract 1.9 percent in 2009.

European Union:

EU predicts that its economy as a whole will contract or decline 1.8 percent, whereas it forecasted two months earlier that its economic growth would increase by 0.2 percent. All its major economies have been sinking into recession, and the British, German, Italian and French economies will trim 2.8 percent, 2.3 percent, 2 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.

Jean Claude Junker, the prime minister of Luxemburg and president of the Euro zone group, deems that the European economy would have to "get through the next two years" before resuming normal by 2011. He went on to predict that the positive role of interest rate cut by the European Central Bank is expected to manifest in the later half of 2010.

(People's Daily February 5, 2009)