Which Nation Showed the Most Restraint During the Global Economic Meltdown?

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France. France? Yes, France. It may come as a shock to those Americans who cry "Socialism!" on a daily basis, but according to Business Insider, the French demonstrated rather remarkable restraint during the global economic crisis.

Despite all the anti-socialist rhetoric from certain pundits and the notion that somehow nations like the U.S. and U.K. are free market bastions while France is some sort of government-infested economic monster, the reality is that France showed the most spending restraint of all nations during the financial meltdown. And it's during crisis when our true philosophical colors shine... They may not talk the talk, but they showed the least manipulation of the economy.

As you can see from the infographic (there's a larger version over at The Big Picture), bailout and stimulus money accounts for a mere 2.6 percent of France's GPD-compared to a whopping 41.9 in the United States.That said, Sarkozy did make a commitment to "throw his weight behind Barack Obama's bank reform plan as he delivered his keynote speech at the 40th World Economic Forum at Davos Wednesday."Via Marginal Revolution.