Europe's sovereign-debt crisis washed closer to U.S. shores Wednesday after Moody's Investors Service warned it may downgrade three French banks that rely heavily on U.S. money funds for short-term financing, The Wall Street Journal reported. Moody's cited the banks' exposure to Greek debt, and added that it may do the same to other euro-zone banks. The three banks—BNP Paribas SA, Crédit Agricole SA and Société Générale SA—have all said recently that their exposure to Greece remains manageable.

The French government has opened the door to a compromise in the stand-off over Ireland’s corporate tax rate, saying it will take into account Ireland’s “singular situation” in deciding its stance, the Irish Times reported. Amid signs that Paris and Berlin are waiting for a gesture from Ireland, government spokesman François Baroin said no decision had been taken on whether to maintain French opposition to Ireland’s request for a reduction in the interest rate on its bailout loans. “The discussions are continuing.

France will refuse a cut in the cost of Ireland’s European bail-out loans at next week’s meeting of eurozone finance ministers as long as Dublin maintains its ultra-low corporate tax rate, the Financial Times reported. Paris appears to be setting itself against a growing European view that Ireland should be given some extra room for manoeuvre as European leaders weigh the need for a new aid package for Greece, which could also involve a second rate cut.

Government officials from France and Germany went out of their way Monday to stress the need for a unified euro zone even as intensifying worries over Greek debt piled pressure on the currency bloc, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a Europe Day speech, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Monday said it's paramount that euro-zone states continue to show solidarity towards one another—signaling France could agree to go further to help Greece meet its funding needs for next year.

Italy's market watchdog Consob is to speed up its examination of the offer prospectus filed by French dairy group Lactalis for Italian rival Parmalat, Consob's head said in an newspaper interview on Sunday, Reuters reported. "We will examine it (the prospectus) rapidly, even before the legal timeframe limit," Giuseppe Vegas was quoted as saying in La Stampa. Under Italian law Consob has 15 days to look at a takeover offer but can ask for more time if it needs further information. Lactalis filed documents with Consob on Friday.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is planning to force companies to give staff a bonus when they raise dividends, but both businesses and unions slammed the proposal, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Sarkozy said late Wednesday that he was in favor of a such a rule; it would apply only to companies with more than 50 employees.

France's Finance Minister Christine Lagarde pledged Monday to cooperate with investigators probing her involvement in the arbitration process related to the bankruptcy of formerly state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported.

The French government thinks it knows the solution to its slow growth and loss of industry: Be more German, The Wall Street Journal reported. "I admire the German model," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said recently. "We need to learn from some aspects." The government is now carrying out a detailed comparison of its tax system with that of Germany, which has lower corporate and payroll taxes than France. Germany traditionally has grown more from investment and exports, which are now booming thanks to demand from China, and it generally has run lower budget deficits than France.

Analysts and investors said that France risks losing its top AAA grade as Europe’s debt crisis prompts a wave of downgrades that threatens to engulf the region’s highest-rated borrowers, with Belgium also facing a possible cut, Bloomberg News reported today. Moody’s Investors Service said on Dec. 15 that it may lower Spain’s rating, citing “substantial funding requirements,” and slashed Ireland’s rating by five levels on Dec. 17. Standard & Poor’s is reviewing its assessments of Ireland, Portugal and Greece.

French bank Natixis Thursday denied allegations made by a trustee seeking to recover assets for victims of Bernard Madoff's investment fraud, The Wall Street Journal reported. A lawsuit filed late Wednesday is seeking around $1.4 billion from seven U.S. and European banks, including Natixis. The trustee, Irving Picard, said the lawsuits, which were filed under seal, accuse the banks of overlooking warning signals about Mr. Madoff's fraud while receiving transfers of money from his firm through so-called "feeder funds" that invested most or all of their assets with him.