Word: franc
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...haven for foreign money. For years, wealthy Italians had been lugging suitcases crammed with lire for deposit in Swiss banks; Crédit Suisse in Chiasso was a prime recipient. In 1975 the Swiss government became alarmed by the foreign-currency inflows that were forcing up the Swiss franc to unrealistic levels, harming Swiss exports. To discourage foreign depositors, the government slapped a 10% "negative interest" charge on large accounts held by non-Swiss...
...first, it appeared to French police like a case of straightforward, though exceptionally grand larceny. Early last July, Hervé de Vathaire, 49, the chief accountant of France's huge Dassault conglomerate, strolled into the Banque Nationale de Paris and signed a withdrawal order on the personal account of his employer. The sum was unusually large: 8 million francs ($1.6 million) in 500-franc notes. Still, no one at the bank thought to question De Vathaire as he lugged two big suitcases out of the bank; after all, he had long been empowered to sign Industrialist Marcel Dassault...
Another factor in the political squabbling was the fact that France is being battered economically. Inflation during the second half of 1976 is projected at 12%-one of the highest rates in Europe. The value of the franc dipped from 4.4 to the dollar to 4.6, and once even plummeted to 5. All the while, Giscard maintained an aloof indifference that his critics saw as inertia...
...million Americans will have toured their own country, spending well above $85 billion, possibly $10 billion more than last year. They will spend another $10 billion abroad, rediscovering old holiday favorites, such as Britain, where the newest attraction is the $1.80 pound (down from $2.40 in 15 months). Even France, where the franc last week dropped to 20? for the first time in more than two years, was welcoming American tourists in big numbers once again. And many of those American travelers are likely to meet foreigners going the other way. For the first six months of 1976, visitors...
...Soviets would never tolerate it. Moreover, would Western Europe accept German leadership? Three decades after WW II the German Federal Republic continues to bear the stigma of the Third Reich. We have no political legitimacy: every time Bonn refuses to revalue the mark to help out the French franc, French newspapers publish editorials about "Iron Chancellors" and "German hegemony." We are still a very controversial subject...