The euro plunged versus the dollar again Friday, this time falling 1.2 cent to a four-year low of $1.2040.

Friday's culprit? Comments by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon that he's "not worried" about the current euro/dollar exchange rate, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

Fillion added that he saw only good news in a euro/dollar exchange rate at parity, or where €1 buys $1, Reuters reported Friday.

Monday's key developments in "As The Eurozone Turns":

The Greek policy gap between Germany and France widened after German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized that the key to resolving Greece's fiscal crisis is Greece's austerity measures.

"I do not see Greece needs money at the moment and the Greek government has confirmed that," Merkel said, FT.com reported Monday.

French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, said he would follow the U.K. and impose a one-off tax on bonus payouts by banks operating in France.

The tax would be levied on bonus payouts above 27,000 euros. Paris's move is in line with Britain's tax on payouts above 25,000 pounds.

Both leaders issued a statement saying: "It is clear that the action must be taken at a global level. No territory can be expected to or be able to act on their own."

General Electric's (GE) chief executive visited France this week, making what some are calling a "last-ditch bid" to acquire the transmission and distribution arm of Areva, a state-owned French company.

Immelt spent some time with two of the closest advisors to French president Nicolas Sarkozy, hoping to convince Sarkozy to ignore political pressure and realize the benefits of GE's $6 billion offer. The French government is rather adamant about keeping the domestic company home, asking a pairing of two French companies (Schneider Electric and Alstom) to rework their initial bid, which was the lowest.

For McDonald's (MCD), 32,000 restaurants in 100 countries isn't enough. The quick service restaurant announced in a meeting with Wall Street analysts that it will open 1,000 new restaurants next year. Most will be in the United States, China, Australia, Russia, Germany and France. Don't expect to see any in Iceland, though, as the company is closing its three restaurants there and has no plans to return in the near future.

The company is also looking to rehabilitate the interiors and exteriors of another 2,300 locations in 2010 – approximately half of them in Europe. In all, this should cost around $2.4 billion. For 2009, McDonald's expects its capital expenditures to reach $2.1 billion on 900 new restaurant openings. The chain is increasing its rate of new restaurant openings by more than 10% from 2009 to 2010.

On Wedneday I wrote about France's idiotic bailout of the auto industry. But wait! There's more!

Now the French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced what amounts to a bailout of the country's newspaper industry as well. Here's how it works: The French government is going to help buy every 18-year old a newspaper subscription as a birthday gift. The newspapers will be given away by the publishers while the state "pays for the deliveries." According to the Associated Press, "Sarkozy also announced a ninefold rise in the state's support for newspaper deliveries and a doubling of its annual print advertising outlay amid a swelling industry crisis."

The problem with this whole measure is that vast majority of teens don't want to read a newspaper. They get their news for free on this newfangled device called the internet. Having publishers and the government shell out cash to send them newspapers is a complete waste of time and it diverts resources from what the traditional media really needs to do: adapt to a changing market.

I understand that Sarkozy wants to help the industry buy time. Fine: Why not just cut them a check to invest in moderinzation? Why bog it down with a gimmick like giving newspaper subscriptions to people who don't really want them?