As symbols of government extravagance go, there are few greater than Versailles. So it was perhaps appropriate that Nicolas Sarkozy chose the gilded halls of the Sun King’s country palace last week to launch France on a new financial adventure that risks costing it and future generations dear. The president’s plan to launch a national savings bond to fund investment in the future of France seemed to hit all the right buttons.

Mr Sarkozy, or rather Henri Guaino, his idealistic speechwriter, pulled out an arsenal of emotive imagery in announcing his plan to use ordinary French savings to invest in strategic priorities such as education, new technology and the environment.