June 29, 2016
The NYT ran an article on how France’s far-right sees the vote in the UK for leaving the European Union as a boost to its own efforts. After outlining the state of anti-EU sentiment in France, the piece tells readers:
“Given the array of other issues facing France, including a near-stagnant economy and high unemployment, it remains to be seen how central an issue membership in the bloc might be in the presidential race.”
Actually, since France is in the euro (unlike the UK), its stagnant economy is very directly linked to its membership in the EU. The rules imposed on it by the EU leadership have prevented it from adopting the sort of stimulus that would be needed to boost its growth and reduce unemployment. It would be very surprising if this issue were not front and center in France’s presidential race since it is so important in people’s lives. The EU is forcing both a deterioration in the quality of France’s public services and higher unemployment with its pointless austerity policies.
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