Y AHORA, FRANCIA BAJO EL FOCO. Y SIRIA COMO ACOSTUMBRA DÍA A DÍA

Top of the Agenda: Eurozone Focus Shifts to France Amid investor fears that France could be next in line to have its AAA credit rating downgraded after the United States, French President Nicolas Sarkozy instructed his budget and finance ministers to come up with new deficit reduction (FT) measures to help the country meet its debt obligations. The eurozone sovereign debt crisis was compounded by concerns over the health of the European banking sector (DeutscheWelle) and its exposure to the struggling economies of Spain and Italy. In a volatile day of trading Wednesday, French bank shares plunged, with Société Générale dropping nearly 15 percent. French bank stocks rose in early trading Thursday but then quickly erased gains as investors moved to safe-haven (Reuters) government bonds. The volatility came despite assurances from the leading credit rating agencies that France was not under review (WSJ) for a downgrade and an adamant assertion by Société Générale CEO Frédéric Oudéa that the bank was not on the brink of collapse. Analysis U.S.-based rating agencies--still reeling from a loss of credibility for being too lenient with risky financial institutions in the run-up to the global financial crisis--are once again under intense scrutiny following S&P's downgrade of U.S. debt. The move comes on the heels of intense criticism by EU officials, who contend the raters have accelerated the European sovereign debt crisis, explains this CFR Backgrounder. The only way out of the European and U.S. debt crises is for every country to establish constitutional limit on budget deficits, a leading German economist tells Der Spiegel's Michael Hüther. The eurozone, once seen as a crowning achievement in the decades-long path of European integration, is a buffeted by a sovereign debt crisis of nations whose membership in the currency union has been poorly policed, explains this CFR Backgrounder. MIDDLE EAST Syrian Forces Storm Northern Town Syrian security forces launched a military assault on anti-government protesters in the northern town of Saraqeb near the Syria-Turkey border (HurriyetDailyNews), arresting over one hundred people. The attack came shortly after the United States imposed new financial sanctions (ABC) on three Syrian companies. The United States and some international partners are pressuring Damascus through the UN and other channels as Assad's crackdown on protesters intensifies. Expert opinion remains mixed on whether the Syrian government can be weakened, says this CFR Analysis Brief.