FRANÇOIS HOLLANDE campaigned on a promise to “renegotiate” the
European fiscal pact signed by his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy,
and Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel. Now the French
president is trying to persuade his Socialist deputies to vote
in favour of the very same pact, in treaty form. In a
parliamentary debate on October 2nd his prime minister, Jean-
Marc Ayrault, argued that a rejection of the treaty, which
enshrines budgetary discipline and goes to a vote on October
9th, would provoke “a political crisis and the collapse of
monetary union”. But the irony of this turnaround has not been
lost.  Mr Hollande faces a rebellion on the left of his party,
with about 20 deputies threatening to vote against, and from the
Greens, who have formally decided to oppose the treaty. This is
particularly odd for the two Green ministers, Cécile Duflot and
Pascal Canfin, who have ruled out resigning from government
despite their party’s opposition. On September 30th tens of
thousands of demonstrators took to the stree