Apart from the country’s admirable willingness to put its military at risk against al Qaeda and Syria, and to call out the Obama administration on its softened approach to Iran, the task involves a long, steep trudge.
As things stand:
• Seventy-four percent of the French think France is on the decline and 83% think that President François Hollande’s blurry reform policies are “ineffectual,” according to reputable polling organizations. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, says “French competitiveness remains insufficient and strengthening public finances can no longer rely on tax increases.”
• As an illustration of severe tensions between Muslims and the native white population, contrasting discrimination against Arabs and a developing sense among the French of their loss of identity, another 74% see Islam as intolerant and incompatible with French society.
• With an estimated growth rate of 0.2% this year, unemployment in France, now at 11%, is projected by the European Commission to rise to 11.2% in 2014.
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