France’s economy grew at its fastest pace in two years, receiving a boost from production and consumer spending, while benefiting from low oil prices. Industrial production was its strongest in four years, and consumer spending rose 1.6 percent in the first quarter.
According to analyst predictions, France’s economy will pick up speed in the first half of 2015, but unemployment will remain high. The economy expects to grow .04 percent in the first quarter and .03 percent in the second quarter.
Thomas Piketty is a known name to anybody who finds the ideas of socialism palatable. In his work titled ‘Capital in the 21st century’, the proponent of Marxist ideas claimed to have worked out an effective wealth generation model. In essence, the book talked about the imposition of 70% wealth tax upon people in ‘rich’ bracket of a country, with proceeds going towards funding opportunity and wealth creation for the poor.
Recent economic data emerging from France has placed further amounts of pressure on the currently stagnating economy. The country appears to be somewhat under-performing, especially in the realm of industrial production, generating concerns in government officials and financial experts alike. What did they expect when they voted in a devoted socialist?
France is in a difficult position. It has not had a sufficient spur to reform, despite the platitudes by both Sarkozy and Hollande. The fall of the Berlin Wall was a great spur to Germany, though it took it a few years to realize it. A capital strike against the periphery by both creditors in the Eurozone and international investors forced the periphery to adopt policies they would not have otherwise.
Recently, France has begun to outline plans for changing its economy, as the country prepares for a budget-related battle against the European Union. The French minister for the economy, Emmanuel Macron, offered a synopsis of the current plans to President Francois Hollande at a cabinet meeting, and it is said that the bill has been designed to pull the French economy out of stagnation and fuel competition.
Many detractors believe that if France does not cut its anti-business regulations and lower its taxes then these goals will not be achieved.
The new economy minister for France has declared the country to be ‘sick’ in response to the economic crisis plaguing the French people. He has appealed for immediate reforms to urgently tackle the soaring rates of unemployment in an economy that has remained stagnant for over six months.
Although the current stagnation is only six months old, the economy minister suggests that France has been suffering ill health for some years now as a result of mass unemployment. At this point, there seems to be no other option for the country, but to completely reform the economy.
The socialist president of France, Francois Hollande, has recently announced his intentions to stick to a fiscal program that he released in January, even after returning from his vacation to find that the country’s economy has remained stagnant, and fewer French citizens than ever before believe his policies will be able to fix the situation.
It is too bad they ever voted for him according to many people who understand business.
During Hollande’s short break:
A massive oversight saw France’s national train operator SNCF purchase 341 new trains that were “too wide” for about 1,300 of its existing platforms, reported Radio France Internationale on Wednesday.
According to RFI, SNCF had spent over $4 billion on the acquisition, only to discover that many of the nation’s train stations were unable to fit the new trains.
France’s Parliament on Wednesday passed a new law which would allows workers to donate their paid leave to colleagues in the event of a seriously ill child, reported Radio France Internationale.
The law had been proposed by right-wing MP Paul Sale – who was inspired by the case of Christophe Germain, an employee at the Badoit water-bottling plant.
