Does France actually not produce sufficient, as François Bayrou says? | EUROtoday

On Apr 16, 2025

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“Nour country does not produce enough. The observation made by François Bayrou to explain the problem of financing public expenditure is final. But is it verified? BFMTV, in particular, has looked into the issue. On the question of GDP (which measures the economic activity of a country), France is actually distant by several European neighbors.

GDP per capita is 43,000 euros in 2024 in France, according to Eurostat. In Germany, it is 51,000 euros, and 52,000 euros in Belgium. It is however lower in Italy (37,000 euros) or in Spain (33,000 euros). In 1980, he was more or less the same for the United States, France and Germany.

Read too Can we hope for a recovery in labor productivity in France? “The manufacturing of actual wealth per individual in employment is sort of good in France, and for instance greater than what’s measured for Germany, however nonetheless decrease than the efficiency of a number of international locations like Austria, the Netherlands …” explains Éric Dor, director of economic studies at the IESEG School of Management.

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The employment fee is likely one of the causes: based on the OECD, it’s 69 %, in comparison with 75 % within the United Kingdom and Canada and even as much as 82.5 % within the Netherlands. It is at each ends (the youngest and seniors) that the curve is the bottom: the French later enter the labor market and return to retirement earlier. To overcome this, “it would be absolutely necessary to accelerate in training, in particular continuing education, for a mason, for example, which cannot work up to 60 years can convert,” suggests the economist.

Read too IA: ecological scourge or lever of the French transition? Beyond the amount of manufacturing, France is now distant in what it produces: actions with excessive added worth, resembling superior applied sciences, are advantaged. For instance, Germany has specialised in industrial robots and machine instruments and due to this fact sees its worth added by employee. France should due to this fact discover its area of interest within the excessive finish. Prime Minister’s subsequent problem?

https://www.lepoint.fr/economie/la-france-ne-produit-elle-vraiment-pas-assez-comme-l-affirme-francois-bayrou-16-04-2025-2587521_28.php