Playing with fire in the second largest economy in the European Union: why are investors afraid of France? Politico has described France as "Europe's new sick man," warning that the EU's second-largest economy is on the brink of a dangerous cycle of financial and social crises as presidential elections approach, public protests over the cost of living, a €3.5 trillion debt pile-up and capital markets panic.

Playing with fire in the second largest economy in the European Union: why are investors afraid of France? Politico has described France as "Europe's new sick man," warning that the EU's second-largest economy is on the brink of a dangerous cycle of financial and social crises as presidential elections approach, public protests over the cost of living, a €3.5 trillion debt pile-up and capital markets panic.