The Barnier government fall after the likely vote of a motion of censure regarding the Social Security financing law is the consequence of the contradictions between the economic policy choices adopted for ten years and the necessity to contain the evolution of the French public debt. But the alarming words employed these last two weeks are immoderate: the comparison with Greece doesn’t make any sense due to the different sizes of the two countries and these about Germany are groundless because the country is going to be confronted with heavy economic difficulties and a real political instability caused by ...

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The reports and the comments are plentiful after France poor economic results. The followed trend for twenty years is worrying due to a continuous and significant downgrade of the main economic indicators. After two decades shown by growth, an inflation reduction, the necessary industrial restructurings along with some mastery regarding public finances (the public debt in 2002 reached only 60% of the GDP) which had allowed France to come in the euro zone, the situation has not stopped to deteriorate: trade deficit and record public indebtedness, low growth and unemployment staying at a high level and a worrying de-industrialization. All ...

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INSEE has just published its first estimation of the French growth during the 3^rd quarter (0.4%), which would allow to hope, for the full year, a figure slightly above 1%. But the satisfaction expressed by the commentators is not justified. Once removed the positive but temporary impact of the Olympic Games, household consumption has stagnated. The enterprises investment and the new homes construction are significantly reducing. The slightly positive contribution of the foreign trade comes only from a reduction of the energy balance. France has even a trade deficit for agricultural goods and the situation is not improving ...

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