The economy also cost Sarkozy the presidency.

I was just browsing the net and I noticed this article on the CNN website by Agnes Poirier. What I noticed in the article was the arrogance shown by the writer in regards to the wishes of the French people. It's naive for the writer to suggest that the election victory of Francois Hollande over Nicholas Sarkozy was mainly as a result of personality and not the economy. With record unemployment, a stagnant economy and ever increasing Eurozone risks I don't see how the French people would consider the management of the financial crisis and the economy by Sarkozy to be "good". Considering that in the U.S., where the financial crisis started, growth is up at around 2.2% last quarter and jobs are being created at a steady rate, France has fared badly indeed. The people have been clear on this with their vote and the numerous strikes against Sarkozy's "austerity-crazed" government. Wrong policy choices have been made and it is evident that austerity doesn't lead you out of a depressed economy.

It is stupid in my view to suggest that because high debt levels, austerity was necessary. You have to analyse the whole picture. The debt-to-GDP ratios of the trouble Eurozone countries were decreasing before the crisis and only increased after the crisis commenced. The causes of the crisis in was not high debt levels of governments but high private sector investment inflows which bust. To solve the problem, expansionary policies to replace the gap caused by dwindling private sector investments are needed. This means loose monetary and fiscal policies are needed to stimulate the economy. Hence austerity is counterproductive at this time. It doesn't mean that austerity must be discarded in the future but what it means is that currently the economy is very fragile to entertain austerity because the debt-to-GDP ratios will eventually have to be reduced in the future. The ECB must be allowed to be more involved in providing more stimulus to the economy. The current attitude is just bad economics.

So Sarkozy, like the rest of the Eurozone leaders lost this time on the economy.