Before the Euro, France lived beyond its means and, as a result, had to regularly devalue its currency, to print fresh money to pay its debts. Each time the Franc fell, the French got a little poorer, but life continued.
Enter the European Monetary Union with its unified currency, the Euro, and its regulations. France could no longer run the printing press, but the Country of Good Sin kept living beyond its means, with government spending exceeding tax revenue. Since it couldn’t devalue the currency, France borrowed to support its lifestyle…and kept borrowing.
Today, France’s debt is close to 100% (96% in 2016) of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The following graph, shows how France differs from its neighbors. In particular, Germany’s debt is much lower and keeps decreasing:
In a not-too-distant future, France will have exhausted its borrowing power and will need to find money inside to reimburse its creditors.
Inside? Where?
Consider this overly-simple but relevant graph:
The poor don’t have any money. The rich are too few and too armed with legal and accounting tricks. All that’s left is the middle class, where population multiplied by income yields the only place a government can mine for tax revenue.
https://qz.com/973495/emmanuel-macron-w ... ch-leader/
