Shrinking public spending will make GDP figures look awful, but we must remember private sector GDP is the real one to watch.

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And under his watch, public debt remains at just 10 percent of GDP.

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On Mr Sarkozy's watch the public sector in France has ballooned to 57% of GDP, second only to Denmark among European Union countries.

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Watch countries exposed to runaway food price inflation such as those with a low GDP per capita and a very high percentage of food relative to total household consumption.

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