The time-bomb at the heart of Europe

The article from The Economist is about the trouble in Europe with the euro.  In the past, France has benefited from the EU's single currency.  However, recently France has been losing competitiveness with Germany and now its economy is looking very vulnerable. This article is of particular interest to me because I am an International Affairs dual major and a French minor who plans to study abroad in Dijon, France next year.  This could potentially affect the currency rate which would certainly impact me as an international traveler.  Also, there have been protests and riots in Spain resulting from problems with the euro so, while I'm abroad, it will be interesting to see how people react to this problem.