Sarkozy's euroenvy is isolating France

France, increasingly isolated, is learning the hard way that euroenvy doesn't pay--

French attack on British economy is 'unacceptable', says Nick Clegg - Telegraph: "French attack on British economy is 'unacceptable', says Nick Clegg--The French government has been formally warned by Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, that their recent criticism of Britain's economy was "simply unacceptable"." On Friday night, François Fillon, the French prime minister, interrupted an official visit to Brazil to call Mr Clegg to "clarify" his recent comments that Britain's credit rating should be reviewed. The Deputy PM told Mr Fillon that his recent remarks and those by other senior French figures had been "simply unacceptable and that steps should be taken to calm down the rhetoric". The conversation came as a major credit rating agency warned the French that it could downgrade the country's rating in the medium term. Fitch Ratings affirmed France's AAA rating but lowered its outlook for the French economy to negative, which usually means a downgrade is possible in 12–18 months. David Cameron and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, enjoyed a "positive" discussion ahead of an official German visit to London next week. The conversation has added to speculation that Nicolas Sarkozy is becoming isolated in Europe. . . "

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