Sarkozy tries to limit damage after France downgrade
President Nicolas Sarkozy struggled Saturday to contain the damage after France was stripped of its top triple-A credit rating just three months ahead of the right-wing leader's re-election bid.
But Sarkozy's main opponent in the presidential race, Francois Hollande, pointed out that Sarkozy had staked his reputation on keeping the prized rating but now, he said, it was clear that he had failed miserably. "It is (his) politics that have been downgraded, not France," said the Socialist who the polls say will win the vote to be held in April and May.
Sarkozy -- who hosted crisis talks with his top economics ministers at the Elysee on Friday -- reportedly told allies last month: "If we lose the triple-A, I'm dead." He had staked his re-election bid on convincing voters that he was the only candidate with the stature and experience to save France from economic meltdown.
"It is the end of the myth of the protecting president," said far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who polls put in third place in the election race.
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The credit downgrade is not good for France, but it weakens Sarkozy's reelection bid.
