Reform pace, economic lag root of riots in France: expert
Downward economic pressures and obstacles to reform are the root causes of riots and protests in France and troubles in other European countries, which could look to China to steam ahead with their economic growth, Chinese analysts suggested on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to address the nation on Monday evening local time, breaking a long silence over rising protests that are shaking France, the Associated Press reported on Monday.
Macron’s address follows continued protests over the weekend despite the government’s decision to suspend a fuel tax for six months.
Violence broke out on Saturday between police and protestors in several French cities, ending with 135 people injured and 1,385 detained, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.
The so-called “yellow vest” protests started in November after the French government announced it would impose a carbon tax on fuel beginning January 1, 2019.
The price of diesel was set to increase 23 percent to 1.51 euros ($1.71) per liter, the highest in France in 10 years.
Intended to help the country wean itself off fossil fuels by 2040, the fuel tax hike has become Macron's biggest threat since taking office in 2017 as the policy “has moved too many people's cheese,” said Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
“Macron's reforms have moved too fast as most people in France cannot afford higher living costs given the country's nascent economic recovery,” Zhao told the Global Times on Monday.
He referred to the French government's plans to cut 120,000 public-sector jobs by 2022 and scrap job-for-life guarantees for railway workers. Those measures saw 300,000 to 500,000 workers walk off the job and take to the streets on March 22.
China's experience over 40 years of reform and opening-up show that a step-by-step approach is best and would serve as a good reference to France which is at a critical stage of reform, Zhao stressed.
Rather than raising fuel taxes, Macron should solve the problem of unemployment first, provide training courses and creating more jobs, Zhao said. Meanwhile, the country should also abandon a zero-sum game and embrace win-win cooperation, Zhao pointed out.
In the first quarter of 2018, the unemployment rate in France stood at 9.2 percent, a 0.2 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies reported in May.
Gradual improvements
Shen Jiru, a research fellow with CASS, said the “yellow vest” movement has become an outlet for people to vent their discontent against the French government and the country's economic and political conditions.
Zhao noted that French people seem conflicted in their desires. “They want reform, which is why they chose the pro-reform Macron as the president one year ago, but they also fear losing their welfare benefits when the reform moves beyond their expectations.”
According to Shen, all of Europe is faced with social problems such as high unemployment and unequal wealth distribution, which if not dealt with well will affect the development of Europe and impact cooperation with China.
Instead of cutting domestic welfare, France and other European countries should grab chances offered by the fourth industrial reform in artificial intelligence to fuel their economies, Zhao said. Europe lags behind the US and China in the development of high technology, Zhao said.
“Only by increasing input in technological innovation and creating more competitive products can European countries enhance competitiveness in the global market and thus fuel their economic growth,” Zhao said.
Zhao called for Europe to expand cooperation with China in high technology and third-party market exploration.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group signed a partnership agreement with French conglomerate Bollore Group to cooperate on a wide range of areas such as cloud computing services, clean energy and logistics, Reuters reported in July.