For those who know France this will come as no surprise. Even in the best of times France always looks for a black cloud in an otherwise blue sky. In this case though, the sentiment may be right. Things can and will get worse.
The "End of Year" survey by Gallup International of 51 countries found that France beat second placed Ireland and third placed Austria for the dubious recognition as most pessimistic, economically-speaking. Its score of negative 79, a drop of 20 points from last year, was the lowest the poll has recorded since 1978. "Even in 1978, after the second oil crisis that called into question an entire economic system, the French have never shown themselves as pessimistic as today," said the poll.
