Officials in Brussels fear that the curse of the eurozone is about to strike again — and this time it is France on the receiving end.
The European Union’s spending limits, “austerity” to many voters, are hardwired into Europe’s single currency and have played a big part in France’s current political crisis as well as the growth of anti-establishment populist movements across the continent.
Brussels is closely monitoring the situation in France and, above all, the reactions of the financial markets, which in the past have triggered a sovereign debt crisis by reducing the value of bonds and increasing the cost of borrowing for all eurozone governments.
Both France’s situation and political instability in Germany, which also has looming fiscal deficits and insurgent populists, come