The french presidential election............and beyond

[Tangled up in Blue]

Barna, how is the change of public policy working out in France?

Hollande's budget was total madness. This is a repetition of 1930s economics; you simply cannot implement such fiscal contraction (especially tax rises as they are more "recessionary" than spending cuts) without any kind of monetary stimulus. It is a repeat of the 1930s with the desparation to cling to the gold standard simply replaced by the desire to preserve the Euro.

The tax rises Hollande has introduced are mad. They will increase the deficit by undermining confidence and reducing economic activity, thus raising less revenue. The money supply has fallen through the floor (a sure sign of recession) and the manufacturing index has totally collapsed.

How much longer can this go on for?

Trust me its same ole same old.

Tony's probably right.In any case Yogi's far better qualified to comment than me.We'll be back in France in a fortnight for a long weekend.Funnily enough I wasn't too impressed with what I read about Holland's first budget either.
(All my wife's relatives-many of whom work in business, for top French companies-at a family do which I didn't go to, back in late August, were predicting that Spain type worries were in the pipeline for France).:stunned: