Pensions General Strike In France.

Triumph13

Plus of course the fact that the French unemployment rate is more than double the UK figure...

nigelbb

Triumph13 wrote: »

Plus of course the fact that the French unemployment rate is more than double the UK figure...

France is a high wage high tax economy with a high investment in R&D & machinery for automation etc. French industry is far more efficient than the UK with higher productivity because of that investment. The UK has historically relied on a pool of cheap immigrant labour with wages kept low by fears of job insecurity & government policy reducing union power.

The UK employment figures are massaged with millions in fake self-employment & nearly 2 million on zero hours contracts.

Tromking

France is also a highly socialised economy, I think I read somewhere that France dedicates approx 20% more of its GDP on public spending than the UK. Happy to be corrected on that. I'm making the wild assumption that the Thatcherite Macron feels that level of spending is not sustainable hence his unpopular reforms.

prowla

I do tend to admire the French people's willingness to stand up for their cause(s).

michaels

nigelbb wrote: »

France is a high wage high tax economy with a high investment in R&D & machinery for automation etc. French industry is far more efficient than the UK with higher productivity because of that investment. The UK has historically relied on a pool of cheap immigrant labour with wages kept low by fears of job insecurity & government policy reducing union power.

The UK employment figures are massaged with millions in fake self-employment & nearly 2 million on zero hours contracts.

So basically the least productive are priced out of the labour market. Does that work well for social cohesion?

michaels

Tromking wrote: »

France is also a highly socialised economy, I think I read somewhere that France dedicates approx 20% more of its GDP on public spending than the UK. Happy to be corrected on that. I'm making the wild assumption that the Thatcherite Macron feels that level of spending is not sustainable hence his unpopular reforms.

It is hard to compare as the state does a lot of things that we do privately in the UK.

None of this hanged the maths on what level of pension support is affordable given an aging and longer living population.

Thrugelmir

nigelbb wrote: »

France is a high wage high tax economy with a high investment in R&D & machinery for automation etc. French industry is far more efficient than the UK with higher productivity because of that investment. The UK has historically relied on a pool of cheap immigrant labour with wages kept low by fears of job insecurity & government policy reducing union power.

The UK employment figures are massaged with millions in fake self-employment & nearly 2 million on zero hours contracts.

Better to have some employment than be on the dole. Given Frances reliance on tourism. Simply not possible to be highly productive across the board. Likewise immigrant labour does the work the locals don’t want to do. Last year went on a river cruise. Bar the two captains. The remainder of the crew were Eastern European. Rural France is in decline. Little industry in many areas.



,