Attali Commission Launched for the Economic Revival of France

A governmental commission that studies the obstacles to GDP growth has been set up in France, chaired by economist and political adviser Jacques Attali.

This government commission, consisting of 42 French and international experts, is headed by Jacques Attali, who was an economic aide to former French President Mitterrand. The formal name is the French Government Commission on GDP Growth Obstacles.

Right after the birth of the commission, Attali proclaimed that he would “Produce a report that contains the methodology for raising the growth rate of France to 5 percent.” Currently, the growth rate of France is around 2 percent.

Like Professor Edmund Phelps, a Nobel Prize in Economics winner, Attali believes that what hinders the economic growth of France is a cultural and mental matter. He foretells that the report will give the French a mental shock. He won’t draft a report that simply lists technical elements.

This explains why among the members of the Commission are Oxford historian Theodore Zeldin and psychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik, along with such economists as the representatives of large and small enterprises, and Harvard economist Philippe Aghion.

Originally, the commission planned to hand in its report by the end of the year. But the deadline has been advanced to next month due to President Sarkozy’s belief that, “We (the French) have no time.”

The commission is emphasizing the importance of remodeling the general view of the French on labor. Since his days as a candidate, President Sarkozy has called for the recovery of the value of labor. The average work hour per week of France, 35 hours, is among the lowest in the world. While the British spend 58 percent of everyday life working, the French only spend 48 percent.

The regulations on quorums or working time are also mentioned as elements that stymie the economic growth of France. For example, France regulates the number of taxi drivers and prohibits shops from opening on Sundays.

The role of Professor Zeldin, well known in France for his book, “A History of French Passions,” is to propose a way to change the image of France. He points out that not only government employees, but French people as a whole should change in order to improve the image of France to a country that always welcome foreigners.

Doctor Cyrulnik, an expert in the mental trauma, will tell why the French people are not happy in the report. Mr. Attali thinks that one of the causes impeding the growth of France is that the French people are not happy.

pisong@donga.com