France's national debt went up in the second quarter of 2016 to 2,170,812 million Euros. This is 98.2% of GDP, much much worse than the UK. France's growth is also forecast to continue to lag behind the UK. France will change government next year from a hopeless socialist regime to a far right Le Pen fiasco or a firm eurosceptic Fallon who will find himself out of step with the population when he tries reasonable labour reforms. It is clear that the UK is in much better financial position than France and already has the flexible labour force that investors demand. The UK will remain the number one investment destination in Europe, especially with the lowest corporation tax rate in the G20. France, by comparison, has many years of strife ahead.
Apart from Cyprus, the one area that France excels at is number of days not worked due to industrial action. The tag the 'sick man of Europe' has firmly been passed to France a long long time ago. This looks like one area France is likely to have plenty more success at.
The French Public debt as a percentage of GDP is 98.2% - if this makes the French the sick man of Europe then does this evaluation mean that the USA is the sick man of the World ? Theirs is 104.17%, or maybe Japan with 229.2%. Are either of these countries in imminent danger of collapsing ?
I am not sure why you have this obsession with France unless it has something to do with why you couldn't hack it out here. I am fully aware of the countries failings, but at least I am quite happy to live with people who realize that there is more to life than just having a wallet full of credit cards. I have children and grandchildren living in the UK and for that reason I want the country to do well, but today there has been a reality check, and it looks worse than most could have expected. The business leaders have stated there is no sense of where the UK is heading and investment from abroad is on hold. Without external money coming in to the country it is downhill all the way, and reduced immigration also hits the economy as the people earn more for it than they cost.
France has had to manage with a fraction of inward investment compared with the UK. Many business leaders welcome the opportunities that Brexit will produce. There will be a short term downturn in the UK but the forecasters predict we will still be in a much better position than most of Europe, including France. You make living in France sound like a chore to be endured. I really enjoyed living in France but returned to the UK because I was too young to retire in my late 40's. I may return to buy another maison de maitre once Fillon repeals the silly wealth tax. You really need to get behind Fillon, he is your only hope.
Nobody said they were collapsing, The US has decent growth and entrepreneurial spirit whilst France has neither.
The USA has what ???!!!!!!!! Over the last decade 81% of US households saw either flat or falling incomes. They have found out that if all American households were presented with a bill for 400 Dollars tomorrow that only around 25% could actually pay it without borrowing or selling something. The IMF have actually warned the USA about its high poverty rates. This is the reason why they are so desparate to get things like TTIP through, because their own domestic spending power has collapsed. They work the longest hours in the developed World, and get the lowest rewards for it - if you are trying to sell the USA. to me then forget it. I would rather live in France than there any day of the week.
I would certainly rather return to live in France than live in the USA. I have never been to the USA and it holds no attraction whatsoever. You have rather changed the subject from talking about national debt to individuals. I was commenting on the ability to repay national debts and how the UK is way way down the list of problem countries. I referred to France as 'the sick man in Europe' as that was the label rightly awarded to the UK when Kremlin sponsored communists infiltrated the UK trade unions and caused as much industrial disruption as possible. Thankfully Thatcher sorted out the unions. Apart from little Cyprus, France, has by far, the largest number of days lost to industrial action. This is bound to vastly increase when another attempt to modernise labour relations is made.
Surely SH. the 'success' of a nation cannot be measured in terms of GDP, national debt, or days lost to industrial action. But rather in the standard of living of their population - and so, in those terms, the USA cannot be classed as a success. You would probably say that Germany is a 'success', at least measured on your standards, yet a quarter of all Germans are earning less that the French minimum wage, and a large part of Europe's problems lie with the fact that Germany does not have sufficient spending power. I could also say here that you cannot measure the success of a country on the basis of hours worked, hours lost, days lost (whether through strike action or whatever) - Germans probably work less hours and days than in Britain or France because they take more days off sick than those countries - also the Germans have more public holidays. And, strangely enough, the most economically successfull part of Germany (Bavaria) has the most Public Holidays of all.
I think you are greatly downplaying the importance of nations running up huge debts. Recently servicing the interest payments on these debts has been relatively cheap, although the money could be better spent on paying for services and investment. Interest rates around the world are due to increase which greatly affects the amount of money a treasury has to spend, or increase its borrowing. This is why Osborne was so keen to reduce the deficit. There has been comments about the UK's level of debt but it must be compared to other countries situations which are invariably much worse.
Interest rates are not universal SH. The interest rates paid on external loans are different depending on a country's so called 'credit worthiness', as decided by rating agencies (surely the real criminals in our World - they will actually bet on the propability of countries going bankrupt). If you rate a countries success purely on national debt then Russia has the lowest in Europe.
Osborne did reduce some of the debt, but at whose expense? Whatever he did, and there is little change in help for the ones that May said she would help, we now see a huge increase in borrowing, and that will have to be repaid at some point, and interest rates for the government were starting to show signs of rising even this evening. I fail to see how comparing one countries debt to another can be a useful guide as to how well a country performs, there are far too many variables. If the UK is building up debts it is for them to repay them, not anyone else. If you wish to say that a country is held back by it's debt then I would agree, and as the figures show today a lot of that increase is due to the uncertainty of Brexit, which is a self inflicted injury.
Because the Tories did not have a decent majority it limited the so called 'austerity' which was actually nothing of the sort. Ireland imposed true austerity. Despite losing 500,000 unnecessary state jobs, The Tories created 2.5 million jobs in the private sector which has produced the best growth in the G20. The point you keep missing is your concerns for the UK are misplaced as the UK has the workforce, the investment and will to succeed. This great opportunity is in marked contrast to France which has low growth, high unemployment, very limited investment from abroad and lousy labour relations. There is more chance of the UK paying its debts much quicker than EU countries. France has not even agreed to try to control its spiralling deficit.
Of course interest rates are not universal and depend on individual country's circumstances but worldwide interest rates are comparatively low compared to the average over the last 40 years. Countries are rated on many factors including amount of debt, ability to finance that debt, political stability and fiscal policies. It certainly does help the UK not to be amongst other EU countries on the list of worst debtors according to GDP.
Our Nige at a lavish party tonight to celebrate the politician's successful year. please log in to view this image
Graham Jones, from Tytherington in Cheshire, on the Telegraph's letters page: "If Donald Trump is keen for Nigel Farage to become an ambassador, perhaps the UKIP leader could start with a four-year stint in a country such as Afghanistan, so he can cut his teeth before getting a bigger posting."
Brexit is becoming much clearer. 'Inevitable' Britain will quit EU's Single Market and customs union after Brexit, MPs told MPs were yesterday told it is “pretty much inevitable” Britain will quit the EU’s Single Market and customs union as part of Brexit. By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL REPORTER PUBLISHED: 00:47, Thu, Nov 24, 2016 | UPDATED: 10:32, Thu, Nov 24, 2016 please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image 516 please log in to view this image 30 please log in to view this image GETTY • PARLIAMENT.TV Tory MP Dominic Raab suggested quitting the customs union was the 'logical conclusion' Known as a so-called ‘hard’ or ‘clean’ Brexit, taking the UK out of the bloc’s Single Market and customs union would free Britain up to strike trade deals with non-EU countries. It would also end the power of EU judges to rule on UK legislation and release Britain from the bloc’s freedom of movement rules. Tory MP and Brexit campaigner Dominic Raab, a former justice minister, suggested it was the “logical conclusion” to end the UK’s membership of the Single Market or customs union in order to meet the Government’s ‘red lines’ for Brexit. RELATED ARTICLES please log in to view this image Boris says other EU nations ‘excited’ & ‘seeing the merits’ of Brexit please log in to view this image Pro-EU peer Lord Kerr calls on Government to chase ‘phased Brexit’ Speaking at the House of Commons’ Exiting the EU Select Committee, Mr Raab asked a trio of expert witnesses whether they agreed with his assessment. He said: “The Government hasn't set out its negotiation plan but the Prime Minister and other ministers have made clear that Brexit will involve leaving the free movement rules; ending the jurisdiction of the European Court [of Justice]; and there is this commitment to make the UK this global leader when it comes to free trade. “Is the logical conclusion… that actually we'll end with a free trade agreement with the EU because the three things I mentioned can't be done as a member of the Single Market or the customs union?” Dr Robin Niblett, the director of the Chatham House thinktank, told the Committee that Britain “leaving the customs union is pretty much inevitable” after Brexit, while Stephen Booth, director of policy and research at Open Europe, also agreed with Mr Raab. Mr Booth suggested Britain would either strike a bi-lateral trade agreement with the EU during Brexit negotiations or rely on World Trade Organisation rules on leaving the bloc. Leaving the customs union is pretty much inevitable Dr Robin Niblett, director of the Chatham House thinktank Shankar Singham, director of economic policy and prosperity studies at the Legatum Institute, told MPs Britain must also consider the costs of remaining in the customs union. He said: “If you're a member of the customs union in any way then you have accepted the common external tariff, which means you then cannot negotiate a goods agreement with any other country.” Mr Singham insisted the Government’s Brexit aims would then be “off the table”, adding: “What you have to evaluate is what is the cost of leaving the customs union and what is the cost of being in the customs union?” He went on: “I don't see how you can achieve this whole thing - Brexit as in not just leaving the EU but all the other free trade agreements, all the dividends that we can have in terms of improving the global position of the UK - I don't see how you can do all of that from within the customs union.”
I distrust people who talk about things as being 'inevitable'. The only thing we know for certain is that we are moving into unprecedented/uncharted waters and the only thing which is inevitable is that the future is unknown, and that nobody can predict the outcome. Marx talked about things like 'historical inevitability`as well......and we're still waiting.
Presumes that Britain can get better deals as a small island than as a member of the most successfull trading block in the World. This against the background that these alternative deals can only be discussed once all negotiations with the EU. have been finalized - and will be with partners who we need more than they need us.
