Back from the beach

摘要

Tanned and rested after his holiday in the south of France, Nicolas Sarkozy returned to Paris this week for la rentree pol-itique with a spring in his step. The summer may have brought a brief health scare for the French president, but on other fronts matters seem to be inching his way. For one thing, the economic outlook is now somewhat brighter. After four consecutive quarters of decline, gdp grew by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2009. Business confidence has picked up, as has the Paris bourse.