Théâtre Royal de Luxe, a street-theater company in France, decided to sue an evil American multinational giant, or so it seems. But there are complications: Royal de Luxe is at the confluence of political connections, government subsidies, Coca-Cola commercialism, perhaps even world domination—and certainly, awesome art.
Europe – France
“Trench Warfare” Or “Civil War” Over Confiscatory Taxes In France
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on “Trench Warfare” Or “Civil War” Over Confiscatory Taxes In France
“We’re engaging in trench warfare,” proclaimed Alain Afflelou, head honcho and founder of an eyewear company with 1,200 stores in France and other countries. He was talking about the tax fiasco that split France in two. He was done with his country. He’s moving to London. One of France’s so-called fiscal exiles. And now there are “unprecedented waves” of them.
A Revolt Against Corporate Welfare Programs For Multinationals In France
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on A Revolt Against Corporate Welfare Programs For Multinationals In France
“Paradox” is what the New York Times called France’s ability to attract more foreign investment than any country other than China and the US. A paradox because it shouldn’t. Investors should be scared off by labor laws, tax rates, the cost of labor, and mud-wrestling bouts over nationalizing some industrial plants. But turns out, multinational corporations pay practically no income taxes in France. And it has reached the boiling point.
The Socialist Heart Of France Spits Out Its First Victim
by Wolf Richter • • 4 Comments
The Alarming “Sense Of Pauperization” in France
by Wolf Richter • • 8 Comments
In France, 48% of the people considered themselves either living in poverty or on the way to living in poverty. The sobering survey results were released just ahead of the National Conference of the Fight against Poverty. A big conference, packed with top politicians. The government is taking it seriously. They will be looking for Band-Aids to cover the deep wounds of the private sector that is atrophying and shedding jobs.
Nationalizations Take Off In France
by Wolf Richter • • 12 Comments
Privatizing state-owned companies has been all the rage in France since the mid-nineties, by socialist and conservative governments alike. But the morass in the private sector has stopped that. Now nationalization is being brandished as a solution—again—though the state still owns a big chunk of the private sector. The dominoes are lined up. Last week it was ArcelorMittal. Today it’s one of the world’s largest shipyards.
Stimulating The Public Sector, Suffocating the Private Sector: A French Dichotomy
by Wolf Richter • • 6 Comments
Moody’s, when it stripped France off its AAA rating, had a laundry list of laments that were a reflection of the awful details seeping from every crack in France’s picturesque veneer: relentlessly rising unemployment, declining production and orders, collapsing automobile sales, plunging home sales…. You’d think France is in a depression. Yet, third quarter GDP edged up by 0.2%. What gives?
French Minister Whines: “Le French Bashing” Is Terrible
by Wolf Richter • • 4 Comments
Germany’s Fear And Desperation Leak Out
by Wolf Richter • • 20 Comments
A hullabaloo erupted between France and Germany that both are trying to silence to death: it seeped out that the German Finance Minister broached an unprecedented topic with Germany’s Council of Economic Experts. Could they produce a reform concept for the troubled French economy? It revealed a threat that terrorizes the German government.
Nationalizing Companies Is Part Of The French DNA
by Wolf Richter • • 6 Comments
In France, socialism isn’t a political movement that swept the elections this year, and it isn’t an economic philosophy that moved once again to the forefront, but it’s part of the DNA of much of the population. And it produces classic knee-jerk reactions to the current economic morass—such as the nationalization of tottering automaker Peugeot.