SHARE
COPY LINK

BUSINESS

Enough! ‘It’s time to stop sport of French-bashing’

The French must put an end to the culture of self-denigration and French expats need to stop "bashing" their home country, a government minister demanded on Tuesday as she called for a change of mentality to boost the economy.

Enough! 'It's time to stop sport of French-bashing'
French Minister Fleur Pellerin (right) looks around a showroom of Samsung Electronics in Seoul on March 26, 2013. Photo: Jung Yeon-Je/ AFP

France needs a change in attitude and to stop being so down on itself, in order to boost the economy and create jobs, the French government minister for small businesses, Fleur Pellerin proclaimed on Tuesday.

A day after President François Hollande announced a raft of proposals aimed at wooing entrepreneurs and small and medium business owners, South Korea-born Pellerin said that as well as these financial measures, it was just as vital for the French to learn to be less hard on themselves.

“The French must stop this self-denigration. It has become a national sport,” Pellerin said in an interview with the daily 20 Minutes newspaper.

“And French bashing by our own citizens living abroad or by the opposition parties has a devastating effect on the image of the country and on its economy.

“I've had enough of this self-flagellation.”

Embattled President François Hollande and his Socialist government have been criticized in the past by those on the right, certain company bosses and even French actors like Gerard Depardieu. They point to his plan to levy a 75 percent tax rate on those earning over €1 million a year as a sign he is anti-business.

France should follow lead of United States

But on Monday the president made stern efforts to woo the world of business.

Speaking to a group of 300 entrepreneurs in Paris, Hollande laid out proposals to attract foreign investment into a country threatened with recession and suffering from dogged unemployment, and to help French firms expand abroad.

He also announced a new "entrepreneur visa" to be created for foreigners seeking to set up an innovative start-up in France if they invest a "sufficient amount" of money.

Pellerin believes France should follow the lead of the United States in doing more for those who want to start a business.

“In France the culture of entrepreneurs is underdeveloped. We need to encourage the younger generations to change their mentality so that each one of them can think ‘Why not me?’," she said.

“In the United States, the universities allow businesses to grow, like Facebook, for example, when it was created. In France we need not only to help students set up their project but also to boost the spirit of entrepreneurship.”

'Those who fail should not be punished'

Pellerin, also criticized the reaction in France towards those businesses that do not succeed and said measures needed to be taken to encourage failed entrepreneurs to have another go.

“In France, failure is inhibiting. There should be a right to rebound.”

“Only 13 percent of entrepreneurs who went bankrupt set up another business, despite the fact 70 percent would like to,” she said. “We must be able to wipe the slate clean after a first failure without being blacklisted.”

With France suffering under the weight of record unemployment rates, little or no growth and massive public debt, Hollande and his ministers have been under immense pressure to do more to kick start the ailing economy.

But Pellerin insists the Socialist government will do what it takes to improve competitiveness.

“We’re here to win the battle for jobs. For this we need dynamic companies that create jobs and can win a share in the international market. The left has understood that for a long time," she said.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

BUSINESS

France’s EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

French energy giant EDF has unveiled net profit of €10billion and cut its massive debt by increasing nuclear production after problems forced some plants offline.

France's EDF hails €10billion profit, despite huge UK nuclear charge

EDF hailed an “exceptional” year after its loss of €17.9billion in 2022.

Sales slipped 2.6 percent to €139.7billion , but the group managed to slice debt by €10billion euros to €54.4billion.

EDF said however that it had booked a €12.9 billion depreciation linked to difficulties at its Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Britain.

The charge includes €11.2 billion for Hinkley Point assets and €1.7billion at its British subsidiary, EDF Energy, the group explained.

EDF announced last month a fresh delay and additional costs for the giant project hit by repeated cost overruns.

“The year was marked by many events, in particular by the recovery of production and the company’s mobilisation around production recovery,” CEO Luc Remont told reporters.

EDF put its strong showing down to a strong operational performance, notably a significant increase in nuclear generation in France at a time of historically high prices.

That followed a drop in nuclear output in France in 2022. The group had to deal with stress corrosion problems at some reactors while also facing government orders to limit price rises.

The French reactors last year produced around 320.4 TWh, in the upper range of expectations.

Nuclear production had slid back in 2022 to 279 TWh, its lowest level in three decades, because of the corrosion problems and maintenance changes after
the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hinkley Point C is one of a small number of European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) worldwide, an EDF-led design that has been plagued by cost overruns
running into billions of euros and years of construction delays.

SHOW COMMENTS