In the last several days, the chatter about the dismal situation in France has grown much louder.

Today's PMI reading doesn't help. In case you missed it, it was a cliff dive. See the blue line.

Then of course there was Hollande's new soak-the-rich austerity budget that has people wondering whether all the rich will flee, undermining the whole thing. In fairness to Hollande, the "cut benefits to the poor" austerity budgets of other countries haven't exactly worked wonders either.