b'2.6. Economic prospects for France - from Hollande to MacronFrance is currently considered one of the strongerEU economies, but is already showing symptoms of distress; high taxes and a large deficit that cannot be reduced materially by public spending cuts alone.30 The French economy suffers from poor investment, subdued consumer spending, and a very high level of unemployment - more than 10%.31According to one forecast by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, France will begin to slip from being the worlds fifth-largest economy in 2013 to its ninth-largest by 2031.32 This Not good, the French budget for 2014would then mean that France would no provided for unprecedentedpubliclonger qualify on economic grounds for spending cuts.25 membership of the G7. When considering the current Gilets Jaunes protests and riots France committedto cutting 15 billion fromalongside these deeper issues, the countrys public expenditure in 2014 in an attempt toalready grim economic prospects seem even control its deficit.26These cuts were designedmore fraught. to avoid raising taxes. However, Le Monde found that over 70% of the French peopleAs the world knows, the next French believed their taxes were excessive.This isPresident was a private citizen, Emmanuel not surprising: President Hollande added 60Macron, leading his own party, by the way billion in new taxes in just over three years. Innamed after his initials (En Marche). President November 2013, Standard & Poors reducedMacron is of course a former banker Frances credit ranking from AA+ to AA, citingand, relevantly, a convinced federalist. specifically the countrys high taxes andNonetheless, the French Presidential election need for structural reform.27 On 18 Januaryof 2017 was a clear repudiation of the 2016, President Hollande in setting out a newestablished parties with le Parti Socialiste job creation plan stated that France is in acoming 5th with a mere 6.36% of the vote. It state of economic emergency. He furtherwas a political revolution. announced that the job creation plan would be financed by savings in other areas ofSubsequently, there has been the public spending - in one word cuts.Morephenomenon of the Gilets Jaunes. It is recently, in September 2018, the Frenchevident that President Macrons support is government tried to cut social spending toa mile wide, but an inch deep. (Perhaps relieve some of the pressure low growth wasone should write a kilometer wide, and a putting on budget deficits.28It presented bothmillimeter deep.)spending cuts and tax increases to finance current President Emmanuel Macrons stimulus package.2940'