Parisot Foresees Wave of Bankruptcies

The head of the MEDEF (who has survived in her position for quite a long time) is painting a bleak picture of the state of French industry. There will be a wave of bankruptcies over the summer, particularly among small to medium firms servicing the auto industry, which has been in decline in France. Her proposal: competitiveness should be at the center of consultations among the social partners, and the burden of financing social protection schemes should be shifted from firms to the public via a "social VAT," a proposal already mooted under Sarkozy. It's very unlikely that Hollande will go for this.