Doomed? Strong word. But I hear it a lot from a friend in Paris who is an economist. He's convinced the French state is headed toward bankruptcy.
The French economy is a bloated wheezing post-socialist monstrosity that has long been in need of an economic intervention. While we’re at it, the nation could also use an exorcism of the spirit of entitlement.
It’s probably an overstatement—but not by much--to say that France is controlled by unions. And here’s an excellent example of what any economic reform attempt will be up against, from the London Telegraph last week:
The British director of a French ice-cream factory was held hostage overnight by employees angry at job cuts, and was only freed after police stormed the building.
You may recall that two years ago students rioted because the government wanted to allow businesses to be able to fire young employees within the first two years of employment. It’s so hard to fire an employee in France under existing laws that many businesses try to hire as little as possible. Not a great formula for economic success.
New President Sarkozy is a splendid talker about reforms, but I doubt he'll try to seriously challenge France’s unionized behemoth and public spirit of entitlement because it would quickly escalate into a street battle with unions that might look like a civil war.