The downside of the billions in investments and aid is that France’s public finances have deteriorated.
(Photo: Reuters, Bloomberg [M])
Dunkirk, Paris François Lavallée can still remember the times when one factory after another disappeared from the northern French port city of Dunkerque. First the Chantiers de France, one of the largest shipyards in the country, had to close. Later, the refinery owned by the energy company Total also closed.
He had to fight for three decades, says Lavallée, head of the region’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Not just his region, but the whole of France was on the path to deindustrialization. But now he sounds optimistic: “We are the city that will see the most industrial investment in France in the next few years.”
Lavallée’s confidence corresponds to the economic figures in the neighboring country: While the gross domestic product (GDP) in Germany is expected to shrink by 0.4 percent this year according to a forecast by the EU Commission, the prospects in France are robust despite a slight weakening. At least one percent growth is predicted.
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