Showdown in Cannes

The gathering of G20 leaders in glitzy Cannes will turn out to be an affair to remember, for all the wrong reasons. If there’s a red carpet, it’ll probably be borrowed and will symbolise the state of many nations’ finances. The main topic of the meeting will be the escalating drama in the eurozone. Here’s a list of what will likely be the most keenly-watched plotlines of the two-day summit. It is not exhaustive.

Greece

George Papandreou scored a (personal) victory overnight by getting cabinet support for a referendum on the EU bailout plan. The referendum is now a very real prospect awaiting parliamentary approval, and one that fills other euro-leaders, and investors, with horror. If the Greeks vote “no”, the EU’s giddy €1 trillion rescue plan for the eurozone is sunk. The Greeks will likely default and abandon the euro. Everything unravels from there.

Anyway, there’s a huge headache over the timeline.