While the euro has not caused France’s economic problems, its politicians’ commitment to the single currency represents an insurmountable barrier to solving them. The basic problem is that the country’s super-generous welfare state (public spending amounts to about 57% of GDP in 2010, compared to 51% in the United Kingdom and 48% in Germany) stifles the growth needed for the euro to remain viable.
欧元并没有造成法国的经济问题，但法国政客对单一货币的承诺却给解决问题造成了不可逾越的障碍。基本问题是，法国极其慷慨的福利国家制度（2010年公共支出占GDP的57%左右，英国为51%，德国为48%）扼杀了维持欧元所需要的增长。