Reuters (December 14)
The world finally “learned its lesson and got a climate deal.” The victory in Paris “was an agreement born from a fear of failure, delivered by the smoothness of French diplomacy.” Remarkably, it took place just six years after “countries had bitterly walked away from global climate talks in Copenhagen without a deal.”
Tags: Agreement, Climate deal, Copenhagen, Diplomacy, France, Paris, Victory, World
New York Times (November 15)
“The coldblooded depravity with which the terrorists gunned down people seated at restaurant tables and picked off hostages in the Bataclan concert hall where more than 80 were killed was horrifying. But Parisians have remained defiant and united…. This attack will harden the resolve of the French against the savagery of the Islamic State, as it must the world’s.”
Tags: Bataclan, Coldblooded, Defiant, Depravity, France, Hostages, Islamic State, Parisians, Resolve, Savagery, Terrorism, Terrorists, United
Wall Street Journal (March 23)
“French voters still don’t have a convincing pro-growth option.” While “Sunday’s first round of voting in French municipal elections won’t much affect national policy… it does send a signal about where the electorate stands.” The majority voted “for manifestos that would consign France to more economic stagnation.”
Tags: Economic stagnation, Elections, France, Manifestos, Policy, Pro-growth, Voters
The Economist (March 7)
“Twenty-five years after the Soviet collapse, the world is entering a new nuclear age. Nuclear strategy has become a cockpit of rogue regimes and regional foes jostling with the five original nuclear-weapons powers (America, Britain, France, China and Russia), whose own dealings are infected by suspicion and rivalry.” The new nuclear age is far more unstable. “During much of the cold war the two superpowers, anxious to avoid Armageddon, were willing to tolerate the status quo. Today the ground is shifting under everyone’s feet.”
Tags: Armageddon, China, Cold war, France, Nuclear age, Regional foes, Rivalry, Rogue regimes, Russia, Strategy, Superpowers, Suspicion, U.S., UK
New York Times (February 23)
“The heavy parliamentary weapon France’s Socialist government deployed to ram an economic reform bill through opposition in its own ranks might seem excessive for a measure that basically lets some stores stay open on some Sundays.” This raises the question of how President François Hollande will proceed when the “far tougher package of tax breaks, easing of labor laws and other reforms is due later this year.”
Tags: Economic reform, France, Hollande, Labor laws, Parliament, Socialist government, Stores, Sundays, Tax breaks
Le Monde (January 8)
“The aim of the assassinations on Wednesday 7 January at the offices of Charlie Hebdo was to kill journalists and cartoonists for their opinions. They have plunged everyone who defends freedom of expression into mourning, and horrified the whole of France.” We will defend this freedom and ensure the “free, caring, joyful society that the journalists and cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo were fighting for.”
Tags: Assassinations, Cartoonists, Charlie Hebdo, France, Freedom of expression, Journalists, Opinions
Financial Times (December 30)
During 2014, populists “enjoyed one of their most encouraging years since the second world war. Insurgent anti-establishment movements recorded electoral triumphs and opinion poll gains everywhere from France and Greece to Spain, Sweden and the UK.” Despite this resurgence, the populist movements are often at cross-purposes, differing widely in what they support.
Financial Times (December 13)
“France is in a similar situation to Italy. Both are attempting structural reform while fighting the threat of recession and asking the EU—which is to say Berlin—for more leeway on fiscal policy.” The reforms will help to remove “the bureaucratic sclerosis that chokes off innovation and growth.”
Tags: Berlin, Bureaucracy, EU, Fiscal policy, France, Growth, Innovation, Italy, Recession, Structural reform, Threat
Wall Street Journal (October 12)
Japan’s dilemma over whether to proceed with the sales tax increase to 10% “mirrors the dynamics in Europe, where France and Italy recently delayed deficit-reduction plans, fearing that spending cuts could tip their fragile economies back into recession.” With much of the developed world facing aging demographics and similar quandaries, all eyes are on Japan. “In a world haunted by stubbornly slow growth and low inflation, Japan’s clinical trial—whether it ends up cure or toxin—will inform other countries when they reach Japan’s state.”
Tags: Deficit reduction, Demographics, Dilemma, Economies, Europe, France, Growth, Inflation, Italy, Japan, Recession, Sales tax, Spending cuts
The Economist (August 30)
“If Germany, France and Italy cannot find a way to refloat Europe’s economy, the euro may yet be doomed.” With inflation “perilously low” at just 0.4%, “the euro zone stands (or wobbles) in stark contrast with America and Britain, whose economies are enjoying sustained growth.”
