Scarce jobs sap French consumers' will.

Add France to the list of European Union (EU) economies that are struggling. On June 21, 2005, France announced that it was cutting its forecast of GDP growth to 2 percent from a target range of from 2 percent to 2.5 percent.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast (dated September 2004) was 2.3 percent, presumably taking its cue from the Bank of France, the country's central bank.

The announcement was made in conjunction with a review of France's new economic policies developed in the wake of the country's rejection of the EU constitution. The new policies were presented by France's economy minister, and carried on the Agence France-Presse (AFP) wire.

One of the beliefs held by French citizens that emerged from exit polls taken during the voting on the constitution was that the French "lifestyle" was endangered.

An Associated Press (AP) story appearing in Newsday (Melville, NY USA) on June 13, 2005 under the headline, "France Widens Search for Economic Answers" provided a wry insight into just what "lifestyle" changes the French were talking about. The story referenced a popular series of French comic books that spun a myth about Britons falling easy prey to a Roman conquest because they, the Britons, were indolent and "refused to work on weekends".

There was nothing comic, however, about the level of soul-searching and constant comparisons among the French with their own economic model and that of their island neighbors across the English Channel.

Lifestyle, and indeed style itself is key to any understanding of the French consumer. The Puritan "work ethic" transplanted from England with such zeal to America is credited with the economic dominance of the US economy.

Also high on the list of self-criticism was France's chronically high unemployment rate. The rate is currently 10.2 percent, according to the AP, and as high as 23.3 percent among French workers under 25. The AP story pointed out that France's unemployment rate was twice as high as the United Kingdom's.

Ironically, French regulations make it difficult for French firms to fire or lay off employees. Seemingly, these regulations should promote job security and low unemployment. But in France, at any rate, the opposite is true.

In the UK, by contrast, it is much easier for firms to respond to market conditions and shed staff. But the British government, certainly as socially aware as the French government, has programs in place that are efficient at helping displaced workers find new jobs.

The rigid French job regulations contribute to unemployment by making it so hard to fire an employee that firms are reluctant to hire. A June 10, 2005 story by the BBC News points out that while 2.5-million people in France are unemployed, 500,000 jobs are unfilled.

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