France : Financial and Real Sector Issues

France has undergone major transformations since 1985. The French economy has achieved a degree of price and exchange rate stability similar to Germany's. However, recent recession has highlighted some severe structural problems. The unemployment rate has risen to levels that were previously unknown in post-war France, and the decline in growth from the abnormally high levels of the late 1980s revealed serious fiscal imbalances that go beyond mere cyclical deficits. Clearly, France faces major challenges as it enters the second half of the decade, including the integration of its economy with those of its European neighbours. The study contained in this work treats issues of central concern to the French economy's prospects until the end of the century and beyond.