Merkel and Hollande hold first meeting

Flags via Shutterstock

The first meeting of Merde did not produce any fireworks - at least none were reported - though they did discuss alternative financial plans as well as Greece. Publicly they said they want Greece to stay in the eurozone though with the new elections being called, that sounds less likely.

Hollande is departing for the US to meet President Obama and soon after will meet again with Merkel to discuss new solutions for Greece. BBC News:

During his election campaign, Mr Hollande said he wanted to renegotiate the EU's fiscal pact, which will require its signatories to balance their budgets. Mrs Merkel has said the terms of the agreement cannot be changed.

"As president of the [French] republic, I want to renegotiate what was accepted at a certain stage to give it the dimension of growth," he said, standing alongside Mrs Merkel at a news conference in the German capital.

For her part, Mrs Merkel said France and Germany were willing to "study the possibility of additional growth measures in Greece".

The banks in Greece may need intervention soon enough if the trend of withdrawing money continues. There has already been $1 billion removed from Greek banks and that trend is likely to continue.