In the past few years, I have lost count of those saying that France was on the brink: a stagnant economy, a divided society and politics at breaking point. Instead of all that, the French people made a clear choice in May, a choice of hope and openness. By electing Emmanuel Macron as president, they sent a message of optimism and openness to Europe and the world. They expressed a desire for political change and their strong expectation for ambitious economic reform.
France has plenty of assets, but for too long these have been undermined by over-taxation and red tape, complex labour regulations, insufficient flexibility, and instability of fiscal and business rules. We need to fix this urgently.
