If France's economy is in trouble, then all of Europe is at risk.

I have always assumed that the Germans would eventually recognize that their interests lie in preserving the Eurozone. As Winston Churchill is said to have observed about the United States: America can always be relied on to do the right thing—once it has exhausted all the alternatives. The Germans have now almost run out of alternatives. If they do not do the right thing soon, there will be some banking casualties, and European governments will once again be obliged to put in public money. That will be just as unpopular as bailing out the Greeks, and probably much more expensive.

This article comes from Project Syndicate.