France

Barnier’s balancing act: a skilful but precarious budget plan

The French government’s proposal to make the deficit manageable carefully balances different objectives but leaves tough choices for the future

Divergent economic dynamics grind down the Franco-German EU axis

France must face up finally to its fiscal failings – and can no longer rely on German indulgence

Macron's snap election gamble

Dissecting the political turmoil in France following President Macron's surprising call for snap parliamentary elections

Stronger together: public preferences for different European defence cooperation designs

Research suggests most Europeans would support a significant uptick in EU defence integration.

Promoting STEM skills: a brief assessment of French individual learning accounts

French ILA successfully promotes basic digital skills but falls short of fostering more advanced capabilities.

Bringing the reform of European Union fiscal rules to a successful close

EU fiscal rules must not unnecessarily restrict green investment.

The unjustified campaign against the nomination of Fiona Scott Morton

Critics argue that her US citizenship and previous work for US tech giants might undermine Brussels’s efforts to tackle big-tech market power.

La France est traditionnellement plus encline aux politiques économiques protectionnistes que l’Allemagne

The Élysée Treaty: 60 years on

A review of Franco-German relations on the anniversary of the Élysée treaty.

COVID-19 credit-support programmes in Europe’s five largest economies

This paper assesses COVID-19 credit-support programmes in five of the largest European economies, and examines how countries have dealt with trade-off

Has the European Union squandered its coronavirus vaccination opportunity?

The European Union’s purchases of frontrunner coronavirus vaccines are insufficient for the population’s near-term needs. The shortfall could have hea

Retraites : pour la clarté

L’économiste regrette, dans sa chronique au "Monde", que les tensions internes au gouvernement aient conduit à s’écarter de la stricte logique d’un sy

Dousing the Sovereignty Wildfire

In time, the current spat between French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro regarding the Amazon rainforest may be

Why Europe needs a change of mind-set to fend off the risks of recession

Recession! This is the new worry in Europe and the US. A simple look at google trends shows that in Germany, France and the US, search interest for re

Opening speech by Bruno Le Maire

Bruno Le Maire, minister of the economy and finance, delivered the opening speech at Bruegel's event “The Eurozone agreement – a mini revolution?”, 8

Takeaways from Xi Jinping’s visit to France and Italy and ideas for the EU-China summit

The author appraises China's strategy towards Europe ahead of next month's EU-China summit.