Berlin's eyes on Paris

This Sunday is the first round of the French presidential election. Hollande us in the lead and the expectation is that he will win, and also win should there have to be a run-off the following Sunday between the top two candidates.  Mrs Merkel has been supporting Sarkozy and has been decidedly cold towards Hollande. The reason for this is clear - Hollande would seek to scrap the Fiscal Pact and has a more expansive view on the role of the European Central Bank.  The tensions an Hollande victory would unleash are brought out well in the following article.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,828537,00.html

A few articles on matters eurozone and IMF

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100016361/george-soros-and-the-bundesbanks-patriotic-putsch/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9213820/Spain-pays-higher-rates-to-borrow-at-debt-auction.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9213919/Spanish-and-Italian-borrowing-costs-already-at-unsustainable-levels-warns-Moodys-Analytics.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeremy-warner/9212611/This-crisis-cannot-be-resolved-while-monetary-union-remains.html

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100016421/its-not-just-christine-lagarde-who-is-on-crutches/