Eurozone's Fate Hangs on Whether French Humiliation Turns to Anger

THE GUARDIAN: The downgrading of France was meant as a warning. But as the Greek crisis enters a critical phase, and Athens looks to its partners for more cash, Europe may find that Sarkozy's patience has now all but run out

Nicolas Sarkozy has spent the weekend nursing his hurt pride after Standard & Poor's stripped France of its AAA rating in a late-night announcement on Friday. But this week, Greece will once again be at the eye of the eurozone storm, as inspectors from the so-called "troika" – the European commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank – arrive to decide whether Athens still deserves the €130bn (£107bn) bailout it was first promised last October.

And after Friday's mass downgrade, which underscored the fact that investors believe governments right across the 17-member single currency area will be on the hook if the crisis deteriorates, Greece's eurozone partners may no longer be in any mood to compromise. » | Heather Stewart | Saturday, January 14, 2012