France Must Lead Breakup of Euro

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May 16 (Bloomberg) -- France played a decisive role inshaping not only the euro system but the entire Europeanproject. This history has predisposed French leaders to the goalof preserving the euro at all costs. Those costs, as weexplained in Part 1 of this article, have become quiteinsupportable. A new strategy is needed, and France’s role inshaping it will once again be pivotal.

France sits on the fault line between the euro system’sdeficit and surplus countries. It runs a large and costlywelfare system with high-quality public services, often referredto as the French model, founded on a deep and dearly heldnational consensus.