Euro Collapse Would Mean Civil Unrest

We have been wondering for weeks what it would actually mean and what would actually happen if the Euro ends up collapsing.  It would be an unprecedented event so there really isn't any history you can look at...so we just keep looking for opinions on what may happen when this scheme comes apart.

As the Italian government struggled to borrow and Spain considered seeking an international bail-out, British ministers privately warned that the break-up of the euro, once almost unthinkable, is now increasingly plausible.

Diplomats are preparing to help Britons abroad through a banking collapse and even riots arising from the debt crisis.

The Treasury confirmed earlier this month that contingency planning for a collapse is now under way.

A senior minister has now revealed the extent of the Government’s concern, saying that Britain is now planning on the basis that a euro collapse is now just a matter of time.

If eurozone governments defaulted on their debts, the European banks that hold many of their bonds would risk collapse.

Some analysts say the shock waves of such an event would risk the collapse of the entire financial system, leaving banks unable to return money to retail depositors and destroying companies dependent on bank credit.

The Financial Services Authority this week issued a public warning to British banks to bolster their contingency plans for the break-up of the single currency.

Some economists believe that at worst, the outright collapse of the euro could reduce GDP in its member-states by up to half and trigger mass unemployment.

Analysts at UBS, an investment bank earlier this year warned that the most extreme consequences of a break-up include risks to basic property rights and the threat of civil disorder.  

Here;  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8917077/Prepare-for-riots-in-euro-collapse-Foreign-Office-warns.html

So what have we learned?  We have learned that if the Euro collapses we can expect businesses to go bankrupt, leading to massive unemployment which will lead to civil disorder (riots) which will lead to unhappy people trampling on personal property rights of others...which means people will probably beat on each other while trying to steal other people's stuff.

It won't be pretty.