The author underlines France's apparent decreasing influence over the EU's economic orientation and decision-making compared with the past. To assess France's current economic influence in the EU, Jamet analyses three aspects:
- France's historical role in the economic and political fields, particularly highlighting its initiative to develop intergovernmental cooperation in the industrial sector.
- France's economic evolution: The country has seen its production for Europe halved and its European GDP keeps declining, while on the international scale, France has seen an "erosion" of its economic weight, the author argues.
Up till now, France has managed to preserve its influence on international institutions like the IMF, the World Bank and the G7, states Jamet. But he says emerging countries are asking for international institutions' decision-making powers to be balanced to better reflect their status. "French influence will inevitably be weakened by this," Jamet adds.
- France's credibility among its partners: France "has lost a part of its credibility in the economic field as it is no longer considered as a model by its partners, but rather as a bad pupil," Jamet argues.
He gives several reasons for this, including the country's poor economic performance, mismanagement of public finances and a governmental speech giving the impression France was "questioning the ECB's independence". To strengthen France's economic influence in the short to medium term, Jamet suggests "it is essential the government avoids giving EU institutions lessons in economic policy".
The best way to "recapture its authority on the international scene would be to improve its economic performances and its public finances in the medium term," he adds.
The French EU Presidency, due to start on 1 July 2008, will give the country the opportunity to introduce initiatives for the financial and industrial sectors, concludes the paper.
