Economic tables are turning on the French

AP , PARIS
Thursday, Jun 09, 2005, Page 9

For years, children the world over have learned from Asterix in Britain, in which the plucky comic-book Gaul of ancient times and his buddy Obelix have adventures across the English Channel, that Britons break for a cup of hot water (they hadn't yet discovered tea) every afternoon and don't work weekends.

And Brits' penchant for pauses proves, in the book, to be their downfall: They get invaded by Romans because they're too busy putting their feet up.

Now, the tables have turned. Instead of poking fun, some in France are wondering whether the country shouldn't be learning from its island neighbor to the north. They point to Britain's far lower unemployment, higher economic growth and perceived dynamism and wonder: Are we the ones taking life too slow?

Renewed in "the Anglo-Saxon model" springs from France's wider search for answers to its economic problems and fears that the forces of globalization -- a bit like the Romans in Asterix -- threaten to sweep away the beloved French way of life.

Politicians, parts of the French media and business executives note that France's unemployment rate -- at 10.2 percent, rising to 23.3 percent among under-25s -- is more than twice that of Britain. Some say that is because the British labor market is more flexible than France's -- and that perhaps there are lessons to be drawn.

Others whether Britain isn't doing better because of its refusal to adopt the euro currency used by 12 European nations, including France.

There are figures to support that argument: Economic growth was an anemic 1.8 percent last year in the euro zone, with France faring a bit better with 2.3 percent, according to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). British growth, in contrast, was 3.1 percent and, the OECD predicts, will be 2.4 percent this year -- twice the euro zone's expected 1.2 percent.

For the moment, radical reform does not appear on the agenda of the new French government put into place by President Jacques Chirac in response to France's stunning May 29 "no" to the proposed EU constitution.

The vote and the heated, divisive national debate that preceded it energized leftists, trade unions and anti-globalization activists who campaigned for a "no." They would likely be the first to take to the streets at the merest hint from the government that it was thinking of treading the British path of the past two decades, breaking the power of trade unions, freeing up labor markets and privatizing some public services like the rail network.

Even before the referendum, Chirac acknowledged that the British model was a nonstarter with most of the French, whose deep attachment to their system of state-funded public services and strong labor and social protections was a primary reason for their rejection of the EU treaty. An exit poll found that 40 percent of "no" voters regarded the constitution as too economically liberal, that it would open the door to unfettered -- read British-American-style -- capitalism.

"Great Britain considers that economic development is paramount," said Chirac in a TV interview four weeks before the vote. "The result is that they have half of our unemployment, but at a social cost that would not be accepted in France. I'm not casting judgment. It's a fact."

Chirac's prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, was quick in his first week on the job to toe his boss' line. In a TV interview, Villepin described himself as a "pragmatist profoundly attached to the French model," although he also said "everything must be tried" in the fight against unemployment, which he has made his government's top priority.

But others are asking questions of the French system -- not least Villepin's No.2, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy, who is widely believed to have ambitions on the presidency at the next elections in 2007, says the best social model is one that provides jobs for all and "so is no longer ours."

In a report last November comparing the two countries' systems, a group of Britain-based French business leaders said that laying off workers is too hard in France, making companies reluctant to take new people on.

"Give us the freedom to hire and fire," they pleaded.

Noting Britain's per capita GDP has overtaken France's, their report added: "Taking inspiration from the United Kingdom is not cheating, and recognizing that is already a victory."

The French media are also looking beyond the nation's borders for answers.

In a story headlined, "Recipes that work," the daily Le Parisien examined the British, Dutch and Danish systems.

British Minister Tony Blair had created "very efficient structures" for helping the unemployed find work, the newspaper noted.

And month, news magazine L'Express put the British premier on its cover with the title "Tony Blair -- why he succeeds." The six-page story started "He has made his country richer," and noted that while he won re-election, "France, Italy and Germany are stagnating, victims of doubt and a crisis of confidence in their leaders."

Such debate makes hairs stand up on the Left.

Asked a radio interview about the Anglo-Saxon model, Socialist lawmaker and "no" campaigner Henri Emmanuelli was indignant.

"You speak about Great Britain without specifying that to earn a living, people there have to have two or three jobs," he said.

He added sarcastically: "Even better than that would be slavery with a bowl of rice as recompense. That way there would be no unemployment at all."