According to the latest “monthly report” published by INSEE, the rate growth of French economy should be 0.3% per quarter, during the first semester 2015.

This news has been hailed, for once, by the business press that sees here the beginning of an upturn and by the French government that justifies thereby the forecast sent to Brussels in order to defend its policy and the gradual return of France’s public deficit below 3%. However, this analysis of the situation is not convincing. First, this figure relies on tiny changes, a few thousandths of GDP. No statistical system is ...

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Il y a cette fois deux chiffres du jour au mois d’octobre : le commerce extérieur avec l’évolution de nos exportations, et la situation budgétaire, avec chaque catégorie de recettes et les dépenses correspondantes. Leur publication simultanée donne un éclairage révélateur sur les difficultés auxquelles est confrontée l’économie française et sur la pertinence des solutions qui ont été mises en oeuvre.  

Depuis deux ans, l’action conduite vise à rétablir la « compétitivité » des entreprises par des baisses d’impôts et de charges, pour leur permettre d ...

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The European Waste

In Sweden, the anti-European far right has just brought down the government and new general elections have been called. In Germany, Angela Merkel, before the congress of her party, the CDU, has questioned specifically France and Italy, whose "structural reforms" would be insufficient to allow both countries to resume growth and restore their accounts. The day before, however, the Bundesbank had lowered its growth forecast for 2015 to 1%, illustrating the fragility of the German economy. The time and place chosen by the Chancellor to lay bare the divisions that undermine the European project, is revealing: the ...

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