M2RB: Edith Piaf
Non, rien de rien
No, nothing of nothing
Non, je ne regrette rien
No, I don't feel sorry
About nothing
By Robert Nolan
A failed plan to tax the rich at 75 percent. A glaring lack of global competitiveness. Famous actors trading in their French citizenship
for Russian to avoid paying high tax rates. The news from Paris as of
late has been a bit sensational, but also dire. Could France be the
first northern country in the European Union to confront potential
economic demise in 2013? Perhaps that assessment is not unlike Gerard
Depardieu's highly publicized Moscow defection—a bit dramatic. But
according to recent economic figures, there is some cause for concern.
The French economy—Europe's second largest—grew at just 0.1
percent in 2012, and unemployment remains at a 14-year high of nearly
11 percent. High labor and production costs have all but crushed
competitiveness with European and Asian exporters in the global market,
and the French continue to resist making the kinds of deep economic
reforms that helped countries like Germany get back on track in the
1980s.
Walking the streets of Paris during the recent holiday season, few French nationals were to be found along the boulevards of les grands magasins.
Rather, Chinese, Russians and Brazilians filled the streets admiring
the holiday windows, which in many ways were a reflection of their own
images.
"France has essentially become a luxury economy catering primarily
to foreigners," one Parisian told me. "We don't create anything
outside of fashion, foods and touristic experiences."
But observers note that this model is unsustainable for the country of 65 million. As Fortune's Shawn Tully writes this week, "La crise est arrive." Even The New York Times ran an editorial Sunday decrying the sad state of the French economy and offered up a number of potential remedies.
Many believe that fixing France should be paramount to the European
project—whether reforms come internally or are triggered by outside
forces. Meanwhile, recent attention has spurred French officials to
act. Last week, the administration of socialist President Francois
Hollande announced a "program of work" that would, many hope, begin to
address some of the structural shortcomings of the French economy,
including its budget deficit, government support for dinosaur French
corporations that fail to innovate, and long outdated social protections
that place France at odds with most of the world.
It will, like always, be an uphill battle. Benefits like the 35-hour
work week and unparalleled job security are highly prized among a
French public keen on taking to the streets when threatened. But many
see 2013 as different. Unless Paris is able to attract new industry,
create a more dynamic job market and increase global
competitiveness—what the International Monetary Fund calls a "competitiveness shock" package of reforms in its most recent report—it could become the next European economic basket case.
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1 comment:
Good. Now pay us your war debt.
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