France's opposition presidential candidate, who is leading in the polls, says he would renegotiate the deal to get Eurobonds and a more active ECB.

ECONOMIST: Britain had a bad summit, but the euro zone had a worse one

Although it is hard to pin down the reasons, Martin Wattenberg, of the University of California at Irvine, points out that turnout has fallen most sharply in countries where parties are weak: Switzerland (thanks to those referendums), America and France (where presidential elections have become increasingly candidate- rather than party-centred), and Japan (where political loyalties revolve around ties to internal factions rather than the party itself).

ECONOMIST: POLITICS BRIEF: Empty vessels? | The

Look at the Rally for France: its Gaullist leader, Charles Pasqua, many times a minister, failed even to qualify as a presidential candidate.

ECONOMIST: The French elections