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Business Daily: Economics and the French presidency

19/04/2012

Economics and the French presidency

BBC World Service - Business Daily, Economics and the French presidency

Why isn't the state of the French economy a bigger issue in the presidential campaign?

Why isn't the dire state of the French economy a bigger issue in the presidential campaign? And does the world really need a new credit ratings agency?

The first round of France's presidential election is on Sunday. 

Justin Rowlatt asks Shahin Vallee, a French citizen and a visiting fellow at the European think tank Bruegel, what the key economic issues facing France are and how the candidates propose to tackle them. And also why economics isn't playing a bigger role in the campaign.

Plus, lots of institutions have come in for criticism for helping precipitate the financial crisis - not least the three big credit ratings agencies.  Wasn't it their job warn the world just how fragile the finances of many banks and governments really were?  

Today the Bertlesmann Foundation is proposing that a new, not-for-profit ratings agency be set up, focusing on rating government - sovereign - debt.  

So why does the world need another ratings agency? Justin Rowlatt interviews Annette Heuser, executive director at the foundation and the author of the proposal for this new agency.  

And, this month marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Sarajevo in Bosnia by Serb forces. It resulted in the deaths of more than ten thousand of people, most of them Muslims.  

When the war ended a novel shared system of government was created. So the country now has three presidents, one from each of the main ethic groups, who serve in the top job on an eight month rotation. Many say this new system succeeded in stopping the conflict but has failed to bring meaningful economic development. 

The BBC's Dan Damon was in Sarajevo during the war; he's been back to see how Bosnia is doing; and one of the places he visited was the Klas bread factory that not only survived the war but is now flourishing.

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