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It’s safe to say soccer players are probably far more popular than politicians in Europe now, given the region’s debt crisis and the painful austerity measures put in place to pare down national deficits.
So it’s a worry for politicians when a former Manchester United star calls for a nationwide run on banks to punish them for their role in the financial crisis.
In an interview last month that has quickly become a YouTube hit, French striker Eric Cantona said millions of people should start a revolution by withdrawing their money from their banks.
“No weapons, no blood,” Cantona said, invoking the calling card of notorious French bank robber Albert Spaggiari, who in 1976 made off with millions of francs after tunneling his way into a branch of Societe Generale.
Cantona’s call has been taken up by “Stop Banque,” a France-based movement that is advocating a run on banks on Dec. 7. The group's Facebook page has 10,872 fans and has spawned a number of other Facebook groups, including “Revolution by withdrawing banks’ money,” which calls on citizens to strike “a terrible blow” at the heart of the global economy. It currently has just over 300 followers.
A French soccer star who played for the U.K.’s Manchester Untied for nearly five years, Cantona is nothing short of a living legend to many of his fans. He was named the team’s player of the century in 2001 and is fondly nicknamed “King Eric.”
His call for a financial revolution has prompted France’s economy minister to speak out. On Wednesday, Christine Lagarde told him to stick to football not finance, telling a news conference, “Mr. Cantona is no stranger to controversy. He is a great footballer, but I’m not sure we need to pay heed to all his suggestions.”
Bank runs usually happen when depositors are worried about the safety or solvency of a particular bank. They simply withdraw all their money, and the run can generate its own momentum, with more depositors withdrawing their money until the bank is destabilized and lapses into bankruptcy. A bank run contributed to the demise of California’s IndyMac bank in July 2008.
Most banks operate with only a fraction of the total deposits on their books, which mostly exist as accounting entries. A sudden surge in demand for hard currency could create unforeseen problems. So while it’s unlikely that Cantona’s plan will destabilize the global financial system and cause a liquidity crisis in Europe, it could have a small destabilizing effect.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Yep, let's take them all down. Then we can all become farmers again. As much as I loath the banks and their greed, we need some financial infrastructure to keep our modern society going. They just need watched more, much more.
Actually I think the guy has the right idea. We should do the same here in the states. Sometimes pain in the best medicine. It certainly would hut everybody a good amount, but in the end, the people who have been hurting us for so many years will finally feel some of the same pain.
Tell you what, it would be a good thing if We the People bankrupted B of A. I would shed no tears over the demise of that company.
As banks role is to loan money, they use the money you deposit. Therefore there is not enough money in the bank if everyone pulled their deposits out as you ignorantly suggest. Banks only have a certain percentage of funds by Federal law in relation to total deposits. Therefore, if we did what you stupidly suggest, hundreds of thousands of B of A depositors would not get there deposits. But of course they are insured, BUT only up to 100,000. All the insured deposits would be paid by YOU AND ME THE TAX PAYERS. Those with amounts over 100,000 would lose that excess amount.
Think before you post.
Take your money out of the big banks and put it in local banks and credit unions. They will be helping local businesses and your neighbors. When banks are too big, their mistakes are too big also.
"A French soccer star who played for the U.K.'s Manchester Untied for nearly five years."
They must fall down a lot with all those shoe laces flopping around.
And who the hell cares what a French soccer player thinks about the banks or the economy? Why in hell is he even in the news about this?
Plus he is a complete moron. Take you money out and the financial system collapses. No money for car loans. No money for business loans or hiring. A complete collapse of the economy. If this moron thinks the Great Depression was bad, let's all do what this idiot suggests and they'll see something a lot worse. What a moron.
no real change comes without revolution
if you want to hurt the banks and the govt agencies making these situations why not on a 3 day holiday stop use of all credit cards. the banks as well as the govt must have cash flow if no credit card purchases were made for at least two days can ou immagine the effect this would have on the world money markets etc