Sarkozy v. Brown

Britain and France are at each other’s throats again. According to the Financial Times, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is “fuming” over French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s remarks yesterday that Britain “doesn’t have any industry left” and its banks lay “close to ruin.” Sarkozy made the remarks in declaring that he would not follow Brown’s lead in cutting value-added taxes, saying such a plan would have “absolutely no impact.” The Financial Times writes that “Mr Brown’s officials telephoned Mr. Sarkozy’s office to complain, but were unimpressed with the explanation.”