With his 18% approval rating, one would think Francois Hollande might really get on a better track. Unfortunately for France, the burdensome taxes and regulations of the Socialists continue to kill incentives as unemployment climbs.The upcoming European elections will certainly provide Hollande and the Socialists with a nasty awakening.
In an expansive television interview on Tuesday, French President François Hollande promised to “go even faster” to ameliorate what he described as an “unbearable” situation for the French. He’s talking about their economy. Among the fixes: simplifying bureaucracy, relief on the cost of labor and reduced taxes. We’ll believe in supply-side France when we see it.
After spending his first 18 months in office pushing for a 75% top-marginal income-tax rate, Mr. Hollande made a U-turn earlier this year and began promising lower government burdens on work and enterprise. Those promises were too little too late for French voters, who punished Mr. Hollande’s Socialists in municipal elections last month.
He’s made a start after pushing through a plan to trim €50 billion from the government budget between 2015 and 2017. That’s a drop in the wine-barrel for a government whose spending tops €1 trillion annually and accounts for well over 50% of the French economy. But it’s better than nothing.
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