France: Not so Much Non

France acts as if it were the richest power in Europe—and constantly tries to use its economic leverage to win its own way in international affairs. Its industrial output jumped by more than 7% in the year that ended last June, and both this year and next year its gross national product is expected to increase 5.5%, highest real growth rate in the Common Market. Yet under the surface glitter, France has a backward, underdeveloped economy—a fact that the De Gaulle government has recently owned up to and started to do something...

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