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<\/p>\nJust a week after France announced an \u2018end to austerity\u2019, it has fallen into recession for the first time in four years as spending and exports contract.<\/p>\n
Official figures show France has returned to its second
\nrecession in four years, as the economy shrank by 0.2% in Q1 of
\n2013, after shrinking the same amount in the final of quarter of
\nlast year, which has brought the Guardian newspaper to declare a
\n\u2018triple-dip recession\u2019 in the eurozone\u2019s second largest
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
The preliminary data from the INSEE statistics agency shows that
\noverall investment contracted 0.9 percent in the first quarter.<\/p>\n
Business investment was down 0.8 percent, and exports contracted
\nfor a second consecutive quarter, shrinking 0.5 percent. Household
\nconsumption fell by 0.1 percent, the first time since Q2 of last
\nyear, despite high spending on energy over the winter
\nseason.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The data is more bad news for President Hollande and the
\nSocialist government, who were elected on the promise to end
\nausterity, and one year later, have failed.<\/p>\n
30,000 leftists demonstrated against Hollande and the Socialist
\ngovernment, who have not delivered on their promise of 0.1 percent
\ngrowth. The protesters\u2019 message was clear- austerity isn\u2019t working
\nfor France.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here to tell him, Mr. President, time is up and you
\nneed to start changing things,\u201d<\/i> one protester, teacher Thibault
\nSans, told RT.<\/p>\n
First on the agenda of change is unemployment, which in France
\nis expected to hit at least 12.2% this year, up almost 1% from
\n11.4% in 2012.<\/p>\n
French employment is also well below the Eurozone average, but
\nmuch lower than crisis headliners Spain and Greece, where
\nunemployment is expected to peak at 27%.<\/p>\n
A survey of 1,027 French people between April 26 and April 28
\nshowed that only 11% think Mr. Hollande will succeed in his
\nobjective of getting unemployment to start falling by the end of
\nthe year, according to the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the European Commission warned that France
\nwould enter recession this year and said the eurozone’s economy
\nwould shrink by 0.4%. The commission also forecast a rise in the
\ndeficit of 3.9% of GDP, much higher than the acceptable EU deficit
\ntarget of 3%<\/p>\n
The most explicit of warning signs may have come two weeks ago
\nwhen the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate from 0.75%
\nto 0.5%, a clear indication of a deepening crisis, with no
\nimprovement on the horizon.<\/p>\n
According to a Reuters poll of economists, there will be no
\nstrong recovery until at least 2015.<\/p>\n
The eurozone\u2019s strongest economy, Germany, also showed some
\nsluggish signs of growth. GDP grew by just 0.1% in the first
\nquarter, far less than 0.3% expected by economists, showing
\nsluggish signs of growth.<\/p>\n
The German office of statistics had previously reported a 0.6
\npercent contraction, but later revised that figure to the standing
\n0.7 percent.<\/p>\n
“The German economy is only slowly picking up Commerzbank today lowered its German 2013 growth forecast Growth may have been delayed in German due to a long winter, Merkel\u2019s initiative to bring the Eurozone afloat seems to only \u201cThe euro area is a drag on the economy and certainly a handicap The Netherlands, which entered recession three months ago, also The new French recession could further complicate the strained On May 6th, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said French \u201cWe\u2019ve been pleading for a growth policy for a year. President Hollande and France have been tiptoeing around France is in a difficult position: either continue its power Wednesday\u2019s sobering results technically align France in camp
\nsteam,”<\/i> the Statistics Office said in a statement. “The
\nextreme winter weather played a role in this weak
\ngrowth.”<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n
\nto 0.2 percent from 0.5 percent, Bloomberg reported.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsome experts think. The particularly cold winter delayed
\nconstruction and business confidence.<\/p>\n
\nbe producing results in Germany, as the rest of Europe is drowning
\nin stagnated economies and bad credit.<\/p>\n
\nfor German companies,\u201d Andreas Scheuele, an economist at Dekabank
\nin Frankfurt, told Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
\nshowed contraction, with GDP falling by 0.1% in the first quarter
\nof this year. Once one of the strongest-looking members of the
\neurozone, the Netherlands suffers from rising unemployment and the
\nhousing market bubble having burst.<\/p>\nParis-Berlin rapport<\/h2>\n
\nrelationship between France and Germany, pro-growth and
\npro-austerity, respectively.<\/p>\n
\nausterity measures are at an end, instead opting for growth.<\/p>\n
\nAusterity on its own impedes growth.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\nGermany\u2019s call for austerity, stirring a \u2018friendly tension\u2019 instead
\nof direct opposition to Chancellor Merkel\u2019s agenda. Hollande has
\nnot continued the legacy of \u2018Merkozy\u2019, a warm and public alliance
\nbetween the German Chancellor and his predecessor, Nicolas
\nSarkozy.<\/p>\n
\nalliance with Germany and unpopular support for austerity, or break
\nwith Germany and instead align itself with Europe\u2019s troubled
\n\u2018south\u2019 \u2014 Italy and Spain.<\/p>\n
\n‘B’, but it will remains to be seen if the French Finance Ministry
\ncontinues to tag-along with Merkel and friends.<\/p>\n