Anyone would think the titchy French leader couldn't face it. She, the Teutonic powerhouse. He, just a AA+ guy – one notch above the breakdown service. Nicolas Sarkozy may struggle with the concept. But even he must have known a downgrade was coming, with France's banks having the biggest exposure in Europe to the PIIGS – Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. Why, it's worth 24pc of GDP. S&P did the maths but told us nothing new with its breathless announcement on Friday night – except, perhaps, that we should never underestimate its craving for publicity. To prove the point, the yield on French 10-year ... (full story)