The sovereign-debt-and-banking crisis that has roiled the monetary union since 2010 has steadily exposed the realities at play here, as irrevocably fixed exchange rates lock in and deepen differences in eurozone members’ competitiveness. In France’s case, the loss of competitiveness and resulting sharp decline in export performance has been aggravated by relying on crushing taxation of labor to finance generous welfare programs and top-drawer public services (a practice exacerbated by stifling labor-market regulation).