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"Serious but not really new," says French financial daily Les Echos regarding the European Commission's assessment of France in its report on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances published on April 10.
Les Echos lists the "evils responsible for France's poor performance: too few exporters, not sufficiently focused on emerging markets and not enough innovation."
The assessment is in line with the report on competition in France, [written by former CEO of EADS Louis Gallois], Brussels also highlights the lack of investment among French firms and profit margins which are the lowest in the Eurozone.
Public debt remains at the core of the Commission's concerns. At 90.2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product at the end of 2012, the need for action is great in order "to reduce the risk of adverse effects on the functioning of the French economy and of the Economic and Monetary Union [...]".
The paper nonetheless notes that "the Commission takes into account reforms have been implemented” which explains why –
Brussels has not seen fit to trigger a procedure for excessive macroeconomic imbalances. But the Commission warns that the imbalances are serious and require "decisive policy action". This, adds the Commission, "is particularly important" because of the "size of the French economy".
A conversation with investigative reporters Stefano Valentino and Giorgio Michalopoulos, who have dissected the dark underbelly of green finance for Voxeurop and won several awards for their work.
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