What does the French example teach?
I would characterize it as a very balanced economy. You have a balance between public sector and private sector. Public-sector expenditures are close to 50 percent of GDP. That’s a big amount. If you look at the banks, all six major banks in France draw roughly 80 percent of their activity and profit from retail activity as opposed to investment banking or asset management. We have a support system for people who lose their jobs, which is also quite balanced. It’s comanaged by the state and by the business association as well as the unions and it provides for roughly 55 to 65 percent of previous income for a rather long period of time. The balance we have built into the system is a shock absorber that is not available in many other economies. It has often been criticized because it can be a weight on the economy. But in periods of crisis, it helps us weather downturns. How do you make sure credit is flowing? There is massive resentment caused by the impression that banks are sitting on
