Weak productivity gains are France’s main problem
Productivity gains in France have been extremely low since 2011: 0.8% per year on average. Even with significant growth in the participation rate (the proportion of the working-age population in the labour market), the result is now very low growth in potential growth: 1.2% per year. France’s sluggish productivity gains explain the lion’s share of the problems facing the country today: The inability to have significant growth in wage earners’ purchasing power without worsening competitiveness and profitability; The inability to increase even necessary public spending (education, healthcare, security) without losing fiscal solvency; The need to choose between reducing the generosity of pension schemes and hiking the tax burden, wiping out the gain in workers’ real incomes. All economic policies , including those regarding education, training and industry , should aim to achieve higher productivity gains.