In April Gardner bought Airia, a French firm half its size, in a merger brokered by Airbus, Gardner's main customer.

ECONOMIST: Britain��s Mittelstand

The size of the French banking sector shrank by nearly 50% during the decade, while the banking sectors in other countries such as Britain and the U.S. grew by 39% and 50%, respectively.

WSJ: Nicolas Lecaussin: What's the Matter With the French Banks?

Under French accounting rules, a stake of this size would require the parent bank to treat Mr Pinault's operations as related in its own accounts.

ECONOMIST: Cr��dit Lyonnais: A shuffle offshore | The

That suggests France is perilously perched on the cusp between being part of the solution to the eurozone's financial woes and becoming an intractable part of the problem: neurotic investors fear that the French government's balance sheet and French banks may not be strong enough to underwrite the size of bailouts that could turn out to be necessary for Italy and Spain.

BBC: Be scared when investors throw money at Germany

Flemings dislike both the size of the tax burden and the sense that they subsidise the French-speaking, southern half of the country, where unemployment is higher and wages lower.

ECONOMIST: Belgium’s Dewinter of discontent | The

Some of the French will go it alone: Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr in Paris sees small size as a selling point in a world of giants.

ECONOMIST: French auctioneers

In an interesting move, Euro RSCG, a mid-size global ad agency, announced recently that it will give birth to its French office, Euro BETC, as an independent mini global network.

FORBES: French Advertising, With La Difference

So even if the size of the EFSF is capped, the impression may well be created that French and German taxpayers have made an uncapped commitment to prop up Italy and Spain - which would infect the perceived strength of the French and German balance sheets.

BBC: Will propping up Italy weaken France?

Although the effort was launched by the clothing industry to better understand the modern French physiognomy, the campaign has also become a way to remind the populace of their true size.

NPR: Rabid Reader: 'Fat Land' and U.S. Supersizing