What should be done in France: Reduce labour costs or improve labour force skills?

France suffers from a low employment rate and deindustrialisation. The comparison between OECD countries shows that this can be explained by the high level of corporate social contributions and by the low level of labour force skills in France. What, then, is the solution to be given priority in France: lowering corporate social contributions or increasing labour force skills? The comparison between France and Spain shows that the need for a reduction in labour costs in France is substantial (about 15%) if the skill level is not increased. It is unrealistic to want to reduce labour costs by 15% in France, so the solution to be given priority is to improve skills.