"It's catch-up time, and unfortunately it is happening at exactly the wrong time, " says Moec.

FORBES: Waging War On Wages

"It is still a very dire situation as far as unemployment is concerned, " said economist Gilles Moec from Deutsche Bank.

BBC: Spain sees jobless total fall in December

"After the likely rate hike to 4.25%, there is a good case for them to stay there for a while, " says Moec.

FORBES: Waging War On Wages

"I think it's still quite ambitious, " said Deutsche Bank's Gilles Moec, who is forecasting growth for France of nearer 1% next year.

BBC: France cuts 2011 growth forecast

"The self stabilizing factors that you might expect to kick in simply did not appear, " said Gilles Moec, senior European economist at Bank of America.

FORBES: Waging War On Wages