But if you spend enough time talking to ministers, EU commissioners and ambassadors in Brussels, you cannot escape the sense that, in private, Mr Sarkozy is seen as a rather ludicrous and tiresome man, forever announcing grand, impulsive plans, ideally without any warning at press conferences, before leaving his colleagues to pick up the pieces.

ECONOMIST: European politics

But it would give a warning to investors in shares and houses that the good times cannot last forever.

ECONOMIST: American interest rates