Sarkozy’s Crisis Fight May Need French Dimension as Deficit Lags

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is flying between Berlin and Brussels this week to fight Europe’s debt crisis just as another challenge in shoring up the euro waits for him back home.

France, Europe’s second-largest economy and the second-largest contributor to the region’s bailout funds, is also among its deficit laggards. The nation’s budget shortfall was the sixth-biggest among the 16 countries that were euro members last year. Excluding those now receiving bailout funds, only Spain and Slovakia did worse.