France in Review: Perfect Track Record of Economic Ineptitude

Courtesy of Mish.

In 2013 France stood out as the perfect model of economic ineptitude. It’s very difficult to be perfect at anything, even failure. France managed. Here are some headlines.

1. December 19, 2013: 50 Foreign Companies Operating in France Sound the Alarm
2. December 16, 2013: Sharp Decline in France PMI; Private Sector Employment Drops 21st Time in 22 Months
3. December 10, 2013: French Industrial Output Drops Unexpectedly; France Finance Minister in Complete Denial; Expect the Unexpected
4. December 04, 2013: Taxed to the Point of No Recovery; France Plans Tougher “Exit Tax” November 17, 2013: France Tax Revenues €5.5 Billion Lower than Expected; Poll Shows 92% Do Not Believe Hollande’s Tax Promises 
5. November 29, 2013: Montebourg Targets UGAP Over “Made in France” 
6. November 03, 2013: “France is Not a Cash Cow”; Riots Over Ecotax Continue; Is Anyone Happy? 
7. October 25, 2013: Made in France: Montebourg Ridiculed in Text and Pictures; France Goes After “Red Bull” Energy Drinks to Finance Social Security
8. October 18, 2013: Still More France Economic Idiocies: New Rent Price Controls, Mandatory Rental Insurance, “Unfair Competition” Laws
9. October 10, 2013: Law of Career Security: France’s Minister of Digital Economy Orders Telecom Companies “to be Virtuous and Patriotic” and to Use Alcatel-Lucent to Prevent Layoffs
10. October 03, 2013: France Vows to “Save the Bookstores”, Fixes Price of Books, Bans Free Shipping by Amazon
11. August 20, 2013: Socialist Delusion: France Promises Full Employment, a Third Industrial Revolution, an Affordable Housing Utopia in 10 Years
12. May 31, 2013: Bad Weather in France to Blame For …
13. May 30, 2013: Simmering Feud Between France and Germany Erupts Into Verbal Warfare; France Tells Brussels to Shove It
14. May 24, 2013: France Private Sector Implosion Continues
15. May 15, 2013: Triple Dip Recession in France; It’s Not the Weather
16. May 11, 2013: Germany France Feud Erupts Again; German Central Bank Head Blasts France
17. April 02, 2013: Hollande Orders Employers to Pay 75% Tax; Top Executives Join France Exodus
18. March 21, 2013: Le Monde Headline “No, France is Not Bankrupt”
19. March 12, 2013: Housing Construction in France Lowest in 50 Years; Hollande Responds With Measures to Support Building “For the Public Good”
20. March 10, 2013: France Postpones Austerity and Deficit Targets for Rest of 2013
21. February 27, 2013: France Unemployment Highest Since 1997
22. February 21, 2013: France Sinks Further Into Gutter; PMI Accelerates to 4-Year Low; “Core” of Europe Now Consists of Germany Only
23. February 19, 2013: Incredible Letter from CEO of Titan to France Minister of Industrial Renewal, Blasting French Unions and USA: “How Stupid Do You Think We Are?”
24. January 28, 2013: Hard Times: Dijon France Sells Half of Prized Wine Collection to Help Those Appealing for Social Aid

I will post my thoughts (not just links) on the global economy shortly.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com