France prepared to go it alone...

Nicolas Sarkozy has announced that unless the global finance houses are regulated, Europe will get it's own house in order and shut out non-European investments.
The French President claims to have the backing of Germany and says that if the G20 meeting does not pledge to regulate the global economy to prevent a repeat of the current crisis, then Europe (ie. Germany and France) will 'go it alone'. Whether there are realistic contingency plans is doubtful, but certainly Sarkozy has grabbed the headlines in a way that will portray him in a good light at home. This is his way of pointing the finger firmly at the US as the cause of the current crisis, something that Gordon Brown has been more wary of doing for fear of spoiling that 'special relationship' between the US and the UK. Sarkosy also says that he will quit the summit if he does not get what he wants, or if he feels that measures discussed do not go far enough. Gordon Brown responded by stating that he was sure that Mr Sarkozy would still be there at the end of the day...