France, Germany in EU summit showdown

BRUSSELS, Belgium - France and Germany crossed swords Wednesday, May 23, over how to spur growth in the debt-stricken eurozone at an EU summit tinged by plunging markets and the euro hitting a near two-year low.

"We have to act straight away for growth," French President Francois Hollande insisted amid deepening worries over Greece's eurozone future and Spain's troubled banks. "Otherwise there will still be doubt on the markets."

"We have no time to waste," the freshly elected Socialist leader stressed at his first EU summit after a cost-conscious train ride from Paris.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced pressure to give ground on her hardline austerity doctrine as the European single currency fell to US$1.2564 and London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges each shed well over 2%.

However, she rejected a call by Hollande for eurobonds -- jointly pooled eurozone debt -- on the grounds they are "not a contribution to stimulating growth in the eurozone" and adding that such instruments ran contrary to EU treaties.

Berlin fears eurobonds would only result in German taxpayers permanently underwriting the public finances of weaker eurozone economies.

In a German press interview appearing on Thursday, Merkel's finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble maintained that "the differences between ourselves and France are not so great."

Floating ideas

Schaeuble said Hollande wants more done to kickstart growth, but insisted that the French president "does not want to water down" a treaty obliging balanced budgets the Frenchman initially said he wanted to re-negotiate.

"We're not talking about an easing of budgetary discipline," Schaeuble insisted.

A member of Hollande's entourage said he was "floating ideas" but "not coming to Brussels with a Kalashnikov."

Non-euro Britain also flexed muscles, ruling out in advance other core ideas put forward by European Union officials and backed by Hollande -- including a tax on financial transactions.

Home to three quarters of Europe's financial services industry, London vehemently rejects the tax.

Opening the dinner talks, EU president Herman Van Rompuy underlined the need to find "a strong will to compromise" with the risk of knock-on effects from a Greek eurozone exit exercising markets.

After Germany's central bank said the picture in Athens ahead of June 17 elections was "highly alarming," leaders were expected to remind Greek voters that they expect Athens to honour a 237-billion-euro ($300 billion) bailout deal agreed in March.

"I don't believe we can afford to allow this issue to be endlessly fudged or put off," said British Prime Minister David Cameron, notably urging the European Central Bank (ECB) to do more.

Treasury officials from the other 16 eurozone member states were told this week to "reflect" on what an exit would mean for their economies, a diplomat from one eurozone country told AFP.

Spain's case

The Greek finance ministry in Athens "categorically" denied this was the case.

Contingency planning that diplomats called "commonsense" stems from arguably greater worries about Spain and Italy, after a report by Fitch Rating agency showed foreign investors had fled Spanish and Italian debt in huge numbers.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Spain did not require the support of European rescue funds, saying there were "faster instruments" -- an apparent allusion to the ECB which has previously bought government bonds in sell-on markets.

Analysts see this as inevitable, with consultant Sony Kapoor warning that Spain otherwise "is headed toward needing a fully-fledged bailout."

Wednesday's talks were set to endorse a trial for 230 million euros in seed money from the EU's budget this year and next by way of EU "project bonds."

This is intended to attract 4.5 billion euros of long-term private investment for Europe's incomplete energy, transport and digital networks.

Other ideas on the table included a 10-billion-euro boost to European Investment Bank (EIB). - Agence France-Presse

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S&P confident on France rating

18 August 2011 Last updated at 10:02 GMT Rumours that France's top-notch rating was under threat gave markets the jitters last week Rating agency Standard & Poor's has said it is confident it will maintain France's AAA credit rating, a week after rumours hit the market that the country could face a downgrade.

"The rating for France is a stable AAA and that has been the case since 1975," Carol Sirou, S&P's head of France, told RTL radio.

"We are confident on that rating."

Earlier this month, S&P cut the credit rating of the US from AAA to AA+ for the first time in its history.

Also on Thursday, French Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse said that France would look at plans to tax the rich more heavily.

Ms Pecresse told BFM radio the government was working on a "contribution" from taxpayers earning more than 1m euros (£870,000) per year, but said it was not yet clear if the tax would apply directly to individuals or to the companies paying their salaries.

The plans are part of a package of measures aiming to cut France's public deficit, which the government is set to unveil on 24 August.

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Australia's Evans wins Tour de France

Australian Cadel Evans on his way to a debut Tour de France victory.Cadel Evans secures Australia's first ever Tour de France victoryEvans wins by 1min 34sec from Andy Schleck of LuxembourgMark Cavendish wins the final stage and takes the green jerseySamuel Sanchez takes the polka dot jersey and Pierre Rolland the white jersey

(CNN) -- Cadel Evans secured Australia's first ever Tour de France victory after the 21st and final stage of the historic race culminated on the streets of Paris.

Evans, who rides for the BMC team, finished amidst the peleton in the 95km stage, to maintain his 1min 34sec lead over Andy Schleck of Luxembourg.

Britain's Mark Cavendish, of HTC-Highroad, sealed a hat-trick of victories on the Champs Elysees to take the green jersey, awarded for the Tour's best sprinter.

Samuel Sanchez, of the Euskaltel team, claimed the polka dot jersey and Frenchman Pierre Rolland, of Europcar, scooped the white jersey after becoming the best placed rider 25 and under.

Evans has twice finished runner up in the world's premier cycling event, in 2007 and 2008, and was mobbed by his teammates as soon as he crossed the line in the French capital.

But to be here wearing the yellow jersey -- for my team, my country, a group of people around me... it leaves me a little lost for words
--Cadel Evans

It was Evans' commanding performance in Saturday's individual time trial that secured him both the yellow jersey and an unassailable lead, and the final flat stage of the race was little more than a procession.

Evans, who became Australia's first ever world road race champion in 2009, told reporters: "It's been 20 years since I watched my very first Tour de France on TV and I said I'd like to win it. A lot of people didn't believe it.

"But some very good people believed in me, from my very first coach right through to the ones who turned me to the road.

"It's been years of hard work and there were a lot of moments in this three weeks where our Tour was lost but to get here safely with all my skin, just that alone is a quest in itself.

"But to be here wearing the yellow jersey -- for my team, my country, a group of people around me... it leaves me a little lost for words."

An emotional Evans paid tribute to Aldo Sassi -- his mentor who died of a brain tumor a year ago. "Aldo Sassi always believed in me, more than I did myself," he added.

"He said to me at one point, I hope that you can win a grand Tour and I hope for you it is the Tour de France for it's the most prestigious. If you do, you'll become the most complete rider of your generation."

Andy Schleck finished second for the third successive year, with his brother Frank coming third. Frenchman Thomas Voeckler was fourth with last year's champion, Alberto Contador, of Spain, finishing fifth.

"It's been a perfect Tour de France but there's only one who can win," Andy Schleck told the Tour's official web site.

"We knew that from the start and that's Cadel and he also deserves this victory. He's been fighting for it. I was fighting too but he was stronger and I'll be back."

A jubilant Cavendish, who has now won a total of 20 Tour de France stages, said: "This is absolutely my best Tour de France yet. The green jersey is an objective I've had in mind for a long time. It's incredible to get it."

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