Globe and Mail – Paris, so far, has emerged as the most serious challenger. But Mr. Sarkozy may be his own worst enemy on this file. The reason: He and his German allies are wholesale supporters of the European Union effort to rein in the hedge funds even though the funds can take little blame for the financial disaster.
If Mr. Sarkozy gets his way, the funds, which are a huge business in London, won’t jump on the Eurostar and re-emerge in Paris. They will leave the EU entirely for Switzerland (not an EU member; some funds have already moved there) or any of the financially ambitious Middle East and Asian cities – Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Shanghai – which are dangling gold and pearls before the big-name fund managers.