France has entered a long period of political instability due to the inability to find a majority to adopt the necessary measures to restore public finances. At the heart of these is the question of the balance of pension systems faced with the ageing of the population. As life expectancy increases, the length of time a retiree receives his or her benefits increases, which generates additional costs. The proposed solution, the postponement of the legal retirement age, is the subject of strong opposition among the population. Its suspension is not considered sufficient, which risks paralysing government action with the blocking ...

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Nearly two and a half centuries ago, Adam Smith published the Research on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. It set out principles that would become the basis for economic thinking about value creation and how to grow it, and the rules to be adopted to achieve these goals. Today, it is wealth creation and not wealth itself, built up over the years, that has become the focus of economic thinking and political debate. Growth, the increase in the wealth produced, has become the objective of governments, which have made it the main tool for improving the ...

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There is a striking contrast between the real situation of the American economy and the frequently catastrophic judgment about the French economy. In Parliament, discussions on the 2026 budget are beginning and the rating agency Standard & Poors has just downgraded France's rating to A+ with a stable outlook from AA- with a negative outlook. The fragility of the government, characterized by the narrowly rejection of a motion of censure and a heavy debt justified this decision. And it has triggered a wave of alarmist comments aimed at pushing through a rigorous budget despite a political context that is not ...

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