French economy more worrying than Greece, says German economist

ISTANBUL

A file picture taken on February 29, 2009 in a Pole Emploi agency, France's employment agency in Dijon, eastern France, shows an employee giving assistance to a jobseeker. The number of registered French unemployed rose by 43,000 in January 2013 to 3.16 million, the labour ministry said on February 26, to just shy of a 16-year record. AFP PHOTO / JEFF PACHOUD

Germany is more concerned about the situation of the French economy than Greece, a prominent German economist and business journalist, Ursula Weidenfeld, has said in an interview with French weekly news magazine Le Point.

Rising unemployment, the misguided approach of French politicians, and the possible time needed for the recovery of the second largest industrial power in Europe, are of particular concern for Germany, Weidenfeld said, adding that the risk of strikes and the price of the labor force was too high in France.

"French President François Hollande's greatest fault is to have promised his electors that they could preserve certain privileges, despite knowing that it is not possible," she said.

When asked about the fortune tax introduced by the French government, which has led to the renowned French actor Gerard Depardieu quitting for Russia, Weidenfeld said the tax would have the serious consequence of pushing great entrepreneurs out of France.

France has lost its industrial base in the last a few years, Weidenfeld added.

Ursula Weidenfeld is editor-in-chief of business magazine Impulse, and is known for her proximity to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble.