The French decline

Résumé du document

France has the sixth largest economy in the world, it is the fourth biggest exporter of services and the third largest investor abroad. It is a permanent member of the UN security council and a declared nuclear power. In addition to that, France is a mainstay of the European Union and a longstanding promoter of European integration, despite the rejection of the draft constitution on May 2005. Nevertheless, there is a sour mood in France caused by some anxiety about economic and social issues. The French welfare system seems no longer appropriate for a globalized world, and sustainable in the face of demographic pressure, mounting debt or persistent unemployment. The riots in the poorer suburbs in November 2005 gave hints of how disenchanted one segment of the population has become. At the same time, even fairly modest reforms, such as the CPE, provoked massive demonstrations and strikes. French writters have even invented a word to sum up the belief that France is unreformable, the word declinism. Finding a way to overcome this social crisis will be one of the key issues in the next presidential election.

Extraits

[...] He announced measure to protect French companies from foreign ownership. The economic patriotism of the left shows that most of the French politicians are still in favour of state interventionism. The fact is that the French dirigist model, established by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, allowed to speed up reconstruction after the Second World War and laid the ground for the rapid transformation of the economy into an industrial powerhouse. But today the planned economy has reached its limits and interventionism cannot be the solution. [...]

[...] A privileged group enjoys permanent positions, but, with the development of short term contracts and part-time work, these jobs are increasingly difficult to get and that leads to a split between insiders and outsiders. What is the core of the French difficulties is unemployment. In the last 20 years, the country's unemployment rate has been frozen around 10%. It is even much worse for some classes. For instance the youth jobless rate is 22%. We can wonder why there is such high level of unemployment. Some argue that the cause of the structural high unemployment level in France is a very inflexible labour market. [...]

[...] For instance France would benefit from embracing the principles of simplicity and fairness: one job contract instead of many, a simple fiscal system rather than high taxes with too many complicated exemptions. We said that France is divided. The only way to take France in the right direction is to merge the different parts of France into one. The massive project to transform the banlieues may be a proof of politicians' consciousness of the need of unity. Borloo's ‘Marschall Plan for the banlieues is a relevant example of the will to reintegrate some excluded part of France. There are some reasons to hope for a better future. [...]

[...] This quotation was about Britain but seems today apt for France. The country is gripped by a belief in its own decline. The French think that things are getting worse, that they are victim of globalisation, that the liberalism and the market are threats. There are, in fact two Frances. For the first part of France globalisation is not the problem. Many French firms are world leaders in their industries and have proven adept at making the most of globalisation. [...]

[...] The French decline France matters. It is the sixth largest economy in the world, the fourth biggest exporter of services and the third largest investor abroad. It is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a declared nuclear power. In addition to that, France is a mainstay of the European Union and a longstanding promoter of European integration, despite the rejection of the draft constitution in May 2005. Nevertheless there is a sour mood in France caused by some anxiety about economic and social issues. [...]