I've come across a couple comments that more or less assume the economy of France is suffering terribly. Those who have close familiarity with various nations might find this a bit strange, given France has the lowest poverty in the world, one of the best healthcare systems (according to WHO), very high productivity, very low crime, exceptional education, and a distinguished culture they seem not willing to trade for anything.
I think the truth is that France is not doing particularly bad, and in fact is simply demonstrating an alternative value system that isn't familiar to countries such as the United States. They are rich in things Americans don't like to include.
The most common comparison of relative wealth is GDP per person. Per person, the US earns $44,000 and France $35,500, therefore the French only have 81% of US wealth, per person.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita
But not so fast. The French don't work as much as Americans (remember those 2-month vacations?) so perhaps we should adjust for this too. Per person, the French work 75% as long as Americans.
http://www.ggdc.net/dseries/totecon.html
In other words, the French actually produce more per hour than Americans do. Would Americans be willing to work 75% as long as they currently do, even if they were only paid 80% as much? Polls indicate most would, but the French clearly do prefer this.
But wait - there's more to consider. Per capita wealth really does not tell us how much Americans or French have. In the US, the wealth is incredibly concentrated in the hands of a few so most workers really don't earn as much as those people in France. How else can France have poverty rates near 12%, when the US has 20%? In reality, most people in France earn just about as much as most Americans earn, but they only work 75% as long.
Inequality may actually explain why Americans choose to work so long. In order for most Americans to earn what they would earn in France, they must work significantly longer - even though most of the "wealth" they produce goes to a handful of people.
The Unemployment situation is another aspect to consider. As a few economists have pointed out, this too is another cultural difference that gets distorted in the statistics. In the US, we like to have young adults working, particularly through school. Although the statistics show this contributes to much higher university dropout rates in the US, Americans seem to prefer lower unemployment to the higher-skilled workforce France prefers.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/needtoknow/2007/04/an_econ...
In both the US and France, 8% of young adults are actually unemployed, looking for work. The unemployment numbers just look a lot higher to France because the number of people who are in school and do not want to work is much higher. Each university student the US adds to the workforce lowers its unemployment rate a little, even though that person would not have to work in France.
One may also have to consider why productivity would be so much more important to the French than unemployment. As the US is ranked at the bottom of all developed countries on the Human Poverty Index, it is quite clear an unemployed person lives miserably worse than they would in any other country. It's not surprising Americans would care about unemployment so much whereas the French are willing to accept longer job searches in exchange for job security and better fits.
Once again, the difference is in what a society values. Americans value working through school, and the French value high-skill education and longer vacations.
