French press review 5 November 2013

France's new political entity and the economy feature in today's papers..

Today sees the birth of a new French political entity as centrists François Bayrou and Jean-Louis Borloo officially launch a common platform for the Democratic Movement and the Union of Democrats and Independents.

The two lads are going out together; they're not getting married. So, we are not calling it a new party. The new beast won't have a name (which is a pity, given how awkward the two old names are to say together). And, since the two leaders are carefully building the suspense by keeping their common policy under wraps, we don't know an awful lot about what they are going to stand for (or against).

We can expect the combined policy to be in favour of Europe, since the two leaders are long-time fans of federalism. They are both critical of key elements of current socialist policy. But practically everything else remains unclear.

There are a number of crucial problems. Bayrou has always claimed to offer a genuine political alternative to both left and right, while Borloo is a conservative politician who wants to distance himself from the mainstream right-wing UMP. Where they can find common ground remains to be explained.

Does France need a political centre anyway, especially in an era when unemployment, poverty, inflation, social divisions, immigration and rising crime are forcing voters to the extremes of the political spectrum? Individually, neither of the two centrist parties has done particularly well. Whether their common charter will enable them to attract more voters will be quickly put to the test, in next year's municipal and European elections.

Whatever about the political centre, the worst is over for French industry.

That's according to the government investment guru, Louis Gallois, interviewed in today's edition of the financial paper, Les Echos.

Whatever about his economic expertise, Gallois is a man who can mix metaphors with the best of them. Asked to explain his view of the prospects for the French industrial sector, he says that improving national competitiveness is not something that can be achieved overnight. He ends by saying, and I quote, "My feeling is that the sector has touched the bottom of the swimming pool, and that clearer weather is on the horizon." Which suggests that M. Gallois has a very spectacular swimming pool.

Among the serious problems still to be resolved are the cost of labour in France, and the failure of local businesses to innovate.

An hour's work in Spain will cost you, on average, 21 euros. It's 35 euros here in France.

Left-leaning Libération offers to explain why the French president, François Hollande, won't be reshuffling the government, nor making any broad changes to policy.

Despite a recent series of defeats, disappointments and a depressing descent into the depths of the unpopularity ratings, Hollande will not propose any quick fixes. It's not his style to react under pressure, says Libé, and anyway, the municipal and European elections are now too close for any changes to have a real impact on the outcome.