Holidays in France should carry a health warning. Paul Arlman, secretary general of the Federation of European Securities Exchanges, has just returned to work after a mysterious absence since the middle of August.
He had not resigned, retired or decided that he couldn't stop Europe's stock exchanges from squabbling. Instead, he has been nursing a broken arm and thanking his lucky stars that it was not worse. Arlman holidays every year in a Normandy farmhouse, where he indulges in tree surgery. Unfortunately, one particular pear tree decided it didn't like being pruned and he fell to the ground from six metres up â making him lucky to escape with just a broken arm. Surgeons put his limb back together with metal pins, so he now carries his X-rays with him on business trips to explain why he sets off airport metal detectorsâ¦
