If you want to see where France is going, take a look at Wallonia. If you want to see where Wallonia is going, take a look at any region that has been fed for decades by others.

It is high time that the Flemish prepare themselves to jump of the Belgium-boat, before they get pulled down in this francophone shit-marsh.

If only we could have in France the same low taxation on business than in China (or at least at mid-distance between ours and theirs), this would be the beginning of the economic resurrection of France. Oh, but Mrs Royal would see her electoral base (the millions of state employees) vanish...So forget it.

Let us remind that along the 25 years of the french socialism/ever-higher-taxation, France went down from the 7th to the 17th World position for the output per inhabitant.

I notice that she said nothing about improving business conditions in order to create private-sector jobs.

That's OK. France falls further behind the rest of the world each and every day. They can have their taxpayer-funded French version of Google that no one uses. They can have their taxpayer-funded French version of CNN that no one watches. They can erect massive new trade barriers to keep their sacred 35-hour work week and 10 weeks paid vacation. They can prevent foreign takeovers of vital French industries such as Danon Yogurt. They can pretend that "Anglo-Saxon capitalism" (i.e., America and the UK) is the greatest threat ever. France will become a forgotten nation and they can deal with internal creeping Islamification by themselves.

It would appear that, since becoming a presidential candidate, Ms Royal's first major trip abroad to gain international 'stature' is a pilgrimage to the new emperors in Beijing. For more than two decades now, the Chinese have been diligently striving to increase the role of markets in economic allocation. Perhaps they can inform Ms Royal of the long-term benefits of markets in furthering the economic wellbeing of citizens? Instead of pampering to pc misconceptions at home, she should be seeking to enhance the role of markets in France itself. Heaven forbid, if ideological politicians are going to tell us what is scarce, and what is not, instead of neutral "markets".