由于英镑贬值，英国经济规模自1999年以来首次滑落至法国之下。

The size of the British economy has slipped below that of France for the first time since 1999 thanks to the slide in the value of the pound.

英镑兑欧洲货币汇率迅速跌至11年低点，同时使得英国经济规模跌至全球第六位。

Sterling's rapid fall to 11-year lows against European currencies has also pushed Britain into sixth place in the world.

2007年第三季度（以及2006年），美国、日本、德国、中国和法国的经济规模均超过英国。

The US, Japan, Germany, China and France all had larger economies than the UK in the third quarter of 2007 - and in 2006.

英国国家经济社会研究院(National Institute of Economic and Social Research)院长马丁?威勒(Martin Weale)表示，对于英国而言，上述数据代表着一场“政治经济灾难”。他指出，英国政府原来常常吹嘘自己是全球第四大经济体，然后在2005年中国赶超英国之后，又说英国是全球第五大经济体。

The figures represented a "political economic cataclysm" for Britain, said Martin Weale, the director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, who noted that the UK government often boasted of Britain's being the fourth largest economy, and then the fifth largest when China overtook the UK in 2005.

英国的经济排名滑至第六位，将对英国政府在经济能力方面的声名构成压力，特别是英国宿敌法国的排名正在前移。

The UK's demotion to sixth place will put pressure on the government's reputation for economic competence, particularly as it is Britain's ancient rival, France, that is moving ahead.

威勒表示，尽管排名变化没有对英国的生活水平产生直接影响，同时英国人均国内生产总值(GDP)仍略高于法国，但英镑汇率的不断下跌，可能遏制相对于经济产出总体增长的收入增长。

Mr Weale said that, although the change in rank had no immediate effect on British living standards and the UK still had slightly higher gross domestic product per head, the falling exchange rate would crimp income growth compared with overall growth in economic output.

2006年，法国国内生产总值为1.792万亿欧元，而英国为1.304万亿英镑。由于2006年英镑兑欧元的平均汇率为1英镑兑1.47欧元，这使得英国经济轻松领先于法国6.7%。

In 2006, the GDP of France was €1,792bn compared with ￡1,304bn for the UK. With sterling worth €1.47 on average in 2006, this put the UK economy comfortably 6.7 per cent ahead of the French economy.

但随着过去6个月英镑兑欧元汇率累计跌逾10%，至1英镑兑1.32欧元，从目前来看，2008年英国经济规模将比法国低4%。

But with sterling's more than 10 per cent fall against the euro in the past six months to €1.32 to the pound, the UK's economy in 2008 is now 4 per cent smaller than France.