The French economy has been lambasted by the country’s business federation.
“The economic situation of the country is catastrophic … if France was a company, it would be going bankrupt”, said Pierre Gattaz, president of Medef which is similar to the CBI in the UK.
He has called on the government to quash the 75% tax rate and the 35-hour working week.
Mr Gattaz said the 75% tax that companies must pay on employees’ annual salaries above €100,000 was damaging France’s competitiveness.
“It’s a symbol which, like the 35 hours, has gone around the planet, and it’s destructive. I never meet a single Chinese or American who doesn’t bring it up,” he added.
He believes the actions taken by the current Socialist government is insufficient and government spending still needs drastic cutting.
Although President Holland has promised to reduce public spending by €50bn by 2017, Mr Gattaz said it was only half of what needs to be done to make France more competitive.
