France has all the necessary tools to survive in a globalised economy, assured Nicolas Sarkozy on 9 November 2006, but citizens must be prepared if they want to stay on the winning side of globalisation.
"To win in globalisation you have to invest more than the others, before the others," he said, mentioning higher education, research and science as priority areas. France can also stimulate its economy by cutting income taxes, in order to boost employment and consumption, and by working longer hours. "What is the point of having spare time if you are unable to ensure your children’s education?" asked Sarkozy, referring to France’s Socialist-imposed 35-hour working week.
But France cannot face globalisation alone, he added. It needs a strong Europe that protects it citizens from the negative impacts of globalisation rather than running a monetary policy which ignores growth and unemployment concerns and enforcing a competition policy that is harmful to European industries (see EurActiv 2 September 2005).
"What is no longer possible is that the term 'European preference' has become a 'rude word' despite the fact that each day I see the signs of American preference, Canadian preference, Chinese preference or Indian preference. Reciprocity must be the rule in the EU’s relations with other regions of the world," he said.
French voters voted against the European Constitution, last year partly because they blamed Brussels over France's failure to protect jobs against competition from low-wage nations.
Sarkozy urged Europe to react by protecting its citizens "just as other countries do", otherwise "protectionism will triumph and national egotisms will prevail, and the European project will crumble".
