I would like to congratulate the people and the government of France on their National Day. Specially would like to thanks H.E. M.Daniel Jouanneau the Ambassador, H.E. the Consul General Christian Ramage and Francis Winder, Commercial Consular on their National Day.
France recognised as the biggest revolutionary country because of their 14th July. After that France never stop, doing revolutionary progress in their country. Currently IMF has appointed French lady as the President of World Bank she is also the minister for the economic, finance & industry of France, (Mrs Christine Lagarde). Euro is strongly raising in the international market, inspite of suffering due to Greece.
There is a popular view, often seen or heard in the media, that the French economy is somehow vastly different in its operation from other modern economies. France is even sometimes depicted as a something close to a rogue economy, where workers are constantly on strike, businesses are held hostage to all powerful unions, and free enterprise is virtually impossible.
Like most myths, the rogue economy myth - largely perpetrated by people with an axe to grind, or by outside commentators who have never set foot in the country - has some grounding in reality; but like all myths it is a caricature where weaknesses are blown out of all proportion, and strengths swept under the carpet. For all its weaknesses - and its strengths - the French economy is alive and well, and performing above average in G20 terms.
Like all developed economies, France has suffered since 2007 from the effects of the global recession; but the effects in France have been partly cushioned by a more cautious banking and investment sector, and by a tradition of state intervention in the economy. In addition, France is world-leader when it comes to the proportion of the labour force working in public sector jobs: 25% in 2005 - few of whom were affected by the economic downturn.
Yet beyond the issue of nationalisation or privatisation, the French state has maintained an above-average ability to intervene in economic affairs remaining a major shareholder in utilities such as EDF where it has a majority holding, or France Telecom (Orange), in which it has a 27% holding.
As a result of its hands-on approach to economic management, France has been able to ensure some remarkable economic success stories. Among the most visible of these is France's world-leading success in the field of rail infrastructure. France was the first country in the world to propose, plan and set up a dedicated high-speed rail network; today the country can boast the world's most extensive high-speed rail network, one which runs without interruption from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, and east-west from near the German border to the lower reaches of the Loire. State intervention in the automotive sector has helped Renault become one of the main world players; the French government still holds a 15% stake in Renault which, in turn, is the leading investor (almost 45%) in Nissan.
When it comes down to hard facts, critics of state intervention in the French economy have to tread carefully. Pakistan and France enjoy cordial economic relationship. There is a two way trade linkage between Pakistan and France. Pakistan is a significant buyer of French products like defence hardware, civil air-crafts, telecom equipment, and power generation machinery mainly procured by the public sector. The private sector also procures significant quantities of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery, optical appliances etc. Textiles form the bulk of exports from Pakistan to France, followed by leather products, surgical instruments, sports goods, rice etc. France is currently the fourth largest trade partner of Pakistan in EU.
(The writer is French Foreign Trade Advisor.)