The British public sector employees are on strike on Wednesday against pension reforms, a move that will disrupt schools, airports, hospitals and municipal services, including trade unions and expect that it will be the "most important in a generation." More than a thousand events are planned across the country and the organizers hope that two million people observe this work stoppage, more so than during the previous day's strike in June for the same reason.

The government wants to delay the age of retirement in the public sector to 66 years in 2020 – against 60 for the most current, and increase contributions, as part of its austerity plan. Negotiations taking place for several months are currently at an impasse, the government citing the increase in life expectancy and the need to restore a balance with the private sector. In an attempt to limit the nuisance caused to users – a particularly sensitive subject in the UK – the Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has asked companies to accommodate employees with exceptional children.

The Dow Jones lost 1.13% or 134.86 points at 11,770.73 points, while the Standard & Poor's 500, the reference fund managers, gave up 1.68% or 20.78 points to 1,216 , 13 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.96% or 51.62 points to 2587.99 points.

There was no very obvious trigger for this downturn.

The euro area has suddenly plunged into turmoil Tuesday after the surprise announcement of a referendum in Greece, Prime Minister George Papandreou playing his all facing strong internal opposition, the risk of default in payment of his country .

Around 1:45 p.m., here is what the state of European stock: -5.07% for the CAC 40 in Paris, -5.32% in Frankfurt, -6.26% in Milan, -3.09% in London .. . To monitor in real time here.

After the lull that had received the results of the EU summit last Thursday, which gave birth to a debt reduction plan for Greece, the announcement of a referendum in Greece has "taken the market by surprise and shocked," said the broker IG Markets in Paris.

According to a government source, the referendum, the first organized in the country since the one that abolished the monarchy in 1974, will speak "about January."Papandreou had raised vertiginieusement setting, wondering if he had at least warned its major counterparts, first and foremost the German chancellor Angela Merkel.

In Paris, the French presidency announced that the head of state Nicolas Sarkozy would call Merkel in mid-day.

For political scientist Nikolapopoulos Ilias, this gamble is a decision potentially "suicidal for the country," jeopardizing the delicate negotiations that began after the Brussels agreement with the holders of private debt to Greek they erase nearly a third cheaper for them a loss of 50%.

"It adds to the uncertainty, which is never good for markets, wondering if all the scaffolding assembled by the euro area may collapse if 'no' to the referendum," commented echoing Michalis Matsourakis, chief economist at the Greek bank Alpha Bank.

He said Mr.

"There is progress," he said on his arrival in Brussels where he will hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel began Sunday when the European Council considered a challenge for the future of economic and monetary union.

"By Wednesday (when a second Council, ed), we must find a solution, a structural solution, an ambitious solution, a final solution, there is no choice," he said when he arrived at the headquarters of the European Council.

Asked if he was confident in the outcome of discussions, the president replied: "Yes, otherwise I would not be here."

David Riley has also held that a creditor of last resort credible was necessary to Rome and Madrid, stressing that the European Central Bank (ECB) should play this role.

"If we end up with a solution for Greece involving more impairment than those defined in July, it will be a roadmap for banks (…) and we will have a credible creditor of last resort for Spain and Italy, "he said at a conference in Brussels bond.

"The EFSF (…) is currently too small.There is an institution, the European Central Bank (…) (…) and I would suggest that the ECB this role (…) in the same way that we expect such a function from the Bank of England (BoE), the Federal Reserve or the Bank of Japan (BoJ). "

An EU summit in Brussels Sunday is expected to discuss how to maximize the firepower of the fund. At the request of Paris and Berlin, an additional peak in the euro area will be held next Wednesday, including agreement on this question, one of the elements expected by the market to combat the crisis.

Richard Sulik, 43, head of the unicameral Parliament of Slovakia and Freedom and Solidarity Party ("SAS"), is an ultra-liberal economist torpedo approval Bratislava strengthening the European Relief Fund (EFSF). According to the founder of the party in 2009 SaS, the EFSF is "a road to socialism."

In 2010, the party enters with great fanfare the Government, through its platform advocating fiscal consolidation, privatization, the legalization of same-sex couples and the decriminalization of marijuana. At the initiative of the man with glasses, bald and of medium size, a referendum is held three months after the election, focusing on the immunity of deputies, the privileges of politicians and use by these luxury cars.

But future historians may recall in particular the month of October 2011, when Richard Sulik has torpedoed the European security, to help indebted countries in the euro area. "We are witnessing an attempt to resolve the debt crisis with even more debt.It's as if someone was trying to extinguish a fire with a fan, "he recently told AFP.

The Slovaks are too poor to pay for the mistakes of others, he repeats often. The future "executioner" of the European bailout fund was born January 12, 1968 in Bratislava, in a family that emigrated twelve years later in West Germany at the time. Passion for economics and physics, he completed his university studies in Munich. In 1991, two years after the "Velvet Revolution" anti-communism in the former Czechoslovakia split amicably in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, he returned to his homeland to go into business.

For ten years he led his company FaxCOPY.In 2003 he graduated from the Economic University in Bratislava, before appearing shortly after one of the authors of a radical tax reform introducing a flat tax (flat tax) of 19%. In 2005-06, he was advisor to the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, a Christian Democrat named Iveta Radicova, future Prime Minister. In 2006-07, he served as advisor to the then finance minister, Jan POČIATEK.

Unconditional cigars, Richard Sulik is often pilloried for his little formal clothing. Even as head of Parliament, it is often the tie. Richard Sulik, who speaks German and English, is divorced. He is the father of four children with his former wife and her current companion.

Former director of cabinet of Nicolas Sarkozy during his visit to the Department of Budget from 1993 to 1995, Pierre Mariani, however, has worked hard over the last three years by taking the uniform fire to extinguish the fire and Dexia lead a restructuring forced march.

"Mariani is a very fast," said a banker close to Dexia in Paris on condition of anonymity.

"Professionally he is a fairly effective and very familiar with his subjects," recalls a former associate who declined to be named. "Humanly by cons is not always obvious. It is hard enough with his team."

Yet some wonder now if not just too late to restructure Dexia staying too long in a position of crisis management, even if not necessarily liable for the current situation.

"Mr. Mariani is a fireman," said Michel de Herde and for the Budget of Schaerbeek, Brussels and a joint shareholder of Dexia."He fought hard but failed to escape the flames."

Others accuse him an authoritarian style that led to the departure of several senior bank officials, such as Stefaan Decraene, the Chairman of the Management Board of Dexia Bank Belgium, last month.

AFTER NEGOTIATIONS WITH BRUSSELS

In 2010, after months of tough negotiations with the European Commission, there is no exception, with his right arm Alexandre Joly, the weight loss abroad imposed by Brussels in return for aid received during the financial crisis .But the two men managed to save some furniture.

If Dexia undertakes to sell certain subsidiaries of the bank abroad, including Spain, Italy and Slovakia, however, the bank saves its Turkish subsidiary Denizbank considered the "nugget" of the bank.

Pierre Mariani will recognize later that the party was far from over.

Fort recovery accounts in 2009, the Group CEO opposes any subsequent split of the Franco-Belgian bank even if it is given in the wings behind rumors of merger with other banks, late as 2008 with the Postal Bank with which Dexia has an agreement for funding.

However, the debt crisis in the euro area continues to worsen.The Management Board of Dexia has no choice but to accelerate disposals last spring in its portfolio of toxic assets.

Eventually the bank will sign the second quarter of 2011 the heaviest loss in its history with a net loss of four billion euros.

But nothing works.With the crisis and tensions in the interbank market, Dexia sees its liquidity situation deteriorate, leading the bank in a bind.

RUMORS OF DEPARTURE

Pierre Mariani, who had set out to reduce the size of Dexia's balance sheet, however, had tried last year to convince markets of the ability of the bank to remain independent and living independently at the cost of a radical refocusing its activities in retail banking based on the Belgian and Turkish.

But analysts also had several occasions to question his real commitment to stay in control of Dexia.

In 2010, the press and echoed rumors that he could have replaced Claude Gueant as Secretary General of the Elysee.

The rumor also gave it as a possible successor as CEO Baudouin Prot, BNP Paribas in place of any dolphin named Jean-Laurent Bonnafé.

Born in 1957 in Rabat, Morocco, the man knows the house where he led retail banking abroad before moving Dexia.

A graduate of HEC, technocrat and inspector of finance, he joined the bank in the rue d'Antin in 1996 after starting his career in senior management.

He then played a leading role in the acquisition of the Italian BNL, the first major foreign network acquired by BNP Paribas in 2006.

But then he had to give way to Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, then head of the network in France which, after assuring the successful integration of BNL, has been promoted to chief operating officer of the group.

In case of extraordinary event, the public support mechanism used in France in 2008 is in place, says Christian Noyer, a member of the Board of Governors of the European Central Bank (ECB).

Several major banks in the world, including major French institutions, saw their market value melted in recent weeks as fears grew of deepening crisis of public debts in the euro area.

"There is no plan.And besides we do not need, "said Christian Noyer, when asked about a possible support mechanism examined by the French authorities.

"The only thing that exists is the mechanism 2008 of a public company may purchase securities in the capital of banks if they express a need," he says.

"So if there was an extraordinary event, this mechanism is in place."

To address the financial crisis following the collapse of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers, the French government established in the fall of 2008 a plan to help the banking sector by mobilizing a budget of 360 billion euros, including 40 billion to build equity and 320 billion to help banks refinance themselves via the Company's financing of the French economy (SFEF).

Christian Noyer said he has asked banks to speed up the process of strengthening their capital of schedule III of Basel, the international agreement designed to make banks more resilient."They will be ready by 2013," he said.

French banks "are very strong," repeated the governor of the Banque de France, "none cache of toxic assets."

"We know they can cope with risk less than a Greek half of profits," he says. "For other countries such as Italy, the risk seems totally excluded."

Zoellick warned in an interview with Reuters that a new crisis is looming, while the budgets of many developing countries have still not fully recovered from the financial turmoil in late 2008.

He said the budgetary situation of more than half of developing countries deteriorated by about 2 percentage points of GDP since 2007, and over 40% of developing countries now have deficits exceeding 4% of GDP.

"If the situation continues to deteriorate, growth in developing countries may bend, the value of their assets could decline, and then their non-performing loans could rise," said Robert Zoellick.

"With these pressures and opportunities, we should expect to protectionist pressures (…), and a downside risk to the population," he added.

He said to continue to think that the economies of industrialized countries could avoid a double dip, but concerns are growing up in the event that these countries would not attack the problems head on.

"A crisis born in the developed countries could be exported to developing countries," he continues."Europe, Japan and the United States must act to address their major economic problems before they become larger problems for the rest of the world".

"Failure to do so would be irresponsible," he summarizes.

The crisis of sovereign debt continues to weigh on European shares and heckle banking stocks, particularly the French – the most exposed to Italy and Greece, two countries that capture these days the attention of market.

The CAC 40 index lost 1.62% to 2935.82 points, after rising 1.5% Tuesday in closing.

London has yielded 1.4%, 2.47% Frankfurt, Milan 1.65%.The index Pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 lost 1.96%.

European banks, including the French, have been buffeted in the red and the green at the mercy of rumors, including whether or not to recapitalize, and news about the crisis in the area.

The Stoxx European banks index ended down 1.6%.

In Paris, BNP Paribas has finally dropped 1.85% after gaining over 2% in the afternoon.Societe Generale, having also made the yoyo, ended in the red (-1.28%) as well as Credit Agricole (-2.38%).

Many professionals emphasize the link of "inbreeding" among European banks and the debt of the euro area and say that as governments will not put out a general settlement plan, financial stocks continue to suffer.

"So things are moving in all directions according to rumors," said a vendor noting the "fragility" of the market.

In this context of flight to quality, Germany awarded for the first time in its history of Bund 10 years at an average rate below 2%.

The performance of the Bund, part of the euro area, the market remained unchanged at 1.77% and that of the French OAT maturing as well, to 2.62%.

The euro gained ground and was trading late in the day around 1.3723 against the dollar around 1.3675 this morning.

In Paris, Alcatel-Lucent (0.85%) was the only value of the CAC 40 to finish in the green while cyclical as PSA (-5.70%) and Vallourec (-4.61%) suffered the largest declines in the index.