Self-confidence sinks as France sees influence wane
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Mr Barroso will meet Jacques Chirac, French president, on Wednesday, amid an intense national debate about France's perceived loss of influence in a European Union it has dominated for almost 50 years.
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French voters gave his conservative party a majority in parliamentary elections Sunday, though it was narrower than expected.
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"I'm worried about the growing attacks that France is deploying against its European allies, against the Germans, the Luxembourgers, against all of the European countries."  France faces thinly concealed and growing frustration from Paris' European partners, irked at President Nicolas Sarkozy's strident position towards EU spending limits and attacks on the ECB. via Raw Story
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy has suffered a seven-point drop in his approval ratings, mainly because of worries over the economy, according to an opinion poll published in the newspaper Le Parisien on Sunday.
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French business confidence slips in September after a sharp drop in export demand.
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Business confidence in Germany, Europe's largest economy, falls to its lowest level in more than a year.
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The short-term confidence of UK firms is at its lowest level in about two years, a survey suggests.
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy's  approval rating has slid to its lowest point in his nine months  in office, a poll commissioned by l'Express magazine showed on  Tuesday, prompting the weekly to speak of a "toboggan effect."
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Consumer confidence in the US falls by more than expected to its lowest level since November 2005.
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Official figures indicate that French jobless numbers show no sign of easing, and that consumer confidence is on the slide.
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A majority of French people are dissatisfied with the work of President Jacques Chirac, according to a new opinion poll that showed his popularity has dropped by six percentage points in a month.
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French President Jacques Chirac's  popularity has sunk to its lowest level in seven years because  of fears over the economy and Turkey's bid to join the European  Union, an opinion poll showed Sunday.
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The optimism that Paris expressed, at the end of last week, concerning releasing the kidnapped French journalists Chesnot and Malbrunot in Iraq, turned into caution at the beginning of this week.
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Consumers' renewed worries about job prospects led to a bigger-than-expected drop in confidence in August and provided more evidence of the fragility of the economic expansion.
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French newspapers are lukewarm on President Chirac's performance during his Asian tour.
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Business confidence in Germany, Europe&#39;s largest economy, has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year, over concerns at a strengthening euro.
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WASHINGTON -- Confidence among consumers fell last month from a two-year high as fuel prices rose and employment weakened, a private report showed yesterday.