French president Francois Hollande was grilled by literally everyone in a 90 minute live presentation.
No one is happy. The reformists and businesses want more reform. The socialists want negative reform.
Tone was set early on when the president said things were “getting better” and a brave journalist interrupted “Is that a joke?”
Please consider François Hollande Endures Live TV Grilling From Hostile Voters.
François Hollande was raked over the coals live on national television on Thursday by a panel of hostile journalists, disgruntled entrepreneurs and angry youth as the French president sought to rekindle dismal approval ratings a year before presidential elections.
The tone was set several minutes into the hour-and-a-half programme when the Socialist leader said that things were “getting better” with the French economy, only to be cut off by a journalist saying: “Is that a joke?”
The television appearance came amid a barrage of negative surveys on Thursday. One showed that 74 per cent of French people do not want Mr Hollande to run for re-election next year, while 87 per cent were unhappy with his record, amid a stubbornly high unemployment rate of more than 10 per cent of the workforce.
Anne-Laure Constanza, a small-business owner brought on to the show on France 2, told Mr Hollande that she was afraid to hire staff and that his latest plan to tax short-term contracts would stop her hiring and “innovating”.
The comments by Ms Constanza show the wealth of anger that still exists among entrepreneurs at the perceived lack of progress in simplifying France’s labour rules.
The president was also faced by Marwen Belkaid, a leftwing student at business school, who said he felt “betrayed” by a president who had promised to put youth first. He pointed to the 25 per cent youth unemployment rate.
“You may feel that you have kept your promises, but that is not how I feel,” he said, criticising the president’s move to the right in trying to reform the labour market.
“How can I believe you . . . when you rush headlong towards an economic system which people do not want?” asked Mr Belkaid.
Mr Hollande was also asked questions from a pensioner who used to be a left sympathiser but now votes for the National Front, and from the mother of a youngster who joined Isis and was killed in Syria.
Léa Salamé, one of the two France 2 journalists anchoring the show, said: “You seem to have convinced neither the workers nor the employers. No one is convinced.”
Another Inane Hollande Idea
I had not heard about Hollande’s plan to tax short-term contracts but that is remarkably stupid, even for a president prone to stupidity.
Constanza is correct. Since there was insufficient reform that would allow businesses to fire people, Hollande’s plan will result in little to no hiring at all by small and medium-sized businesses with under 50 employees.
Progression of Political Promises
- Make promises you cannot keep to get elected
- Keep making them even though it is mathematically impossible for them to work
- Everyone spits at you when you attempt to make changes
- Eventually everything implodes
We are on the verge of point number 3.
Marine Le Pen is waiting on deck in France. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders on deck in the US.
This country needs journalists willing to stand up and say: excuse me Mr. President is that a joke? The same applies to Janet Yellen.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Total Enarquey .
According to http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-banking-idUKKCN0VW0CT the ‘ability to pursue a variety of activities and geographies relies on a relative stability of revenues in the domestic retail network’ , a part justification for French banks not restructuring post GFC . It continues ‘bonds formed at France’s prestigious universities means bank and company executives, central bankers and government officials often have a broadly shared viewpoint’ , which is nothing too new , or maybe ‘ Where they do have strong support is from the political establishment who believe France needs to punch above its weight in global financial services to support French companies’ overseas business in Francophone countries and beyond’ neither .
What that does add up to in the event of a French or global slowdown is something else though .
BNP is throwing in the towel for 10% of its finance investment unit while hiring a third of those laid off for digital tech. http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/04/14/bnp-paribas-supprimerait-environ-675-postes-dans-sa-banque-d-investissement_4902310_3234.html for example .
I guess there is still some North Africa and Middle Eastern business moving for French finance … trying to think of where else … Europe I suppose , a good example being Cataluña which increasingly invites French involvement http://www.mon.cat/cat/notices/2016/04/la_generalitat_ven_els_encants_de_catalunya_al_cercle_de_negocis_mes_influent_de_franca_162506.php though I am not sure that the Spanish appreciate the increasing integration of the region into the French financial world .
So I get the feeling the local French are a bit fed up of having to put up with the big scheme while having their own possibilities seemingly oppressed from various sides ?
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,,,2.0
Got popcorn?
Maybe a few more live Q&A’s and someone might pop the question what’s wrong with deflation.
I have watched Marine Le Pen talk and she seems to be very proud and clever woman. I like that a leader says directly that France belongs to French people not to everybody rushing in. A nation without borders that are protected will very soon seize to be one.
The EU socialistic project will fail as all socialistic projects finally will. How big the destruction this time will be is anybody’s guess. I believe it will be huge and we are lucky to escape without a war.
Marine Le Pen should not be confused with her father who is out of line and expelled from the party.
I enjoyed this clip particularly related to Hollande (and Merkel)
Marine Le Pen is a socialist… a national socialist.
Le Pen a socialist?
Don’t be ridiculous
Many kinds of socialism around, but the one we understamd here is the trend to redistribute wealth . You could therefore call any taxation, benefits, legislative dampening, socialist. The question is relative in terms of direction to current status maybe.
The social implications of nationalism, outside of direct wealth redistribution just mentioned, are actually exclusivist in nature – socialism tends to be the opposite.
A slightly outdated look at FN policy from a source that is likely not pro-FN
http://www.france24.com/en/20140528-france-national-front-policy-eu
Europe and the US seem to both be ready bury the elitists, but I’ll bet every country will be put right back in line through rigged electronic voting fraud.
Diebold pre-programmable voting machines – Better than “dangling chads”
Anatomically adept robots interrupted the French circular flow of income.
Two weeks ago
Mark Zandi: “the economy is doing very well, ignore GDP”
this week?
Mark Zandi: “the economy is doing very well, ignore Industrial Production”
March Industrial Production
expected … -0.1%
actual … -0.6%
January and February revised lower
January +0.6% –> +0.5%
February -0.5% –> -0.6%
Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank’s GDPNow will not update till tuesday the 19th when March Housing Starts released.
Currently clinging to +0.3% … IP (and revisions to prior) will drag it lower (negative?) unless Housing Starts provides stick save.
Marwen Belkaid, a leftwing student at business school, who said he felt “betrayed” by a president who had promised to put youth first. He pointed to the 25 per cent youth unemployment rate.
“How can I believe you . . . when you rush headlong towards an economic system which people do not want?” asked Mr Belkaid.
Belkaid apparently wants an economic system which maintains a 25% youth unemployment rate. So why is he complaining?