Socialist Francois Hollande eked out a victory over Nicolas Sarkozy in yesterday’s French presidential election. Sarkozy’s belt-tightening austerity measures were his undoing, with Hollande promising higher taxes on the rich and a growing minimum wage for the working class. But the jury is still out on whether Hollande and his Socialist party will be able to combat the Euro-zone crisis that is keeping France in the red. Dominique Barbet, a senior economist at BNP Paribas, and Stephen Erlanger, correspondent for our partner The New York Times, discuss the fallout of yesterday’s election and what we can expect for the future of France.
The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?