The strongly-worded article on the embassy’s website – in unusually undiplomatic language – slammed ten points on which it said London business daily City AM had “got it wrong on France”, while vaunting French public services and attitudes to business.
City AM editor Allister Heath wrote on January 7: “France’s economic sickness is primarily due to its overbearing state, horrendously high tax levels, insane regulations, absurd levels of inefficient public spending and generalised hatred of commerce, capitalism, success and hard work.”
“Companies should not bother opening offices in France,” he added. “There are plenty of better places for them to allocate their cash in today’s global economy.”
And using the two countries’ health services as an example to rebut City AM’s claim of “absurd levels of inefficient public spending” in France, the embassy hit back calling Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) an “ailing institution” which had suffered “years of under-investment”.
“The French system, by comparison, which is also almost entirely free of charge, came top of 191 countries in the World Health Organization’s rankings for overall healthcare,” the embassy wrote.
“France also provides twice as many hospital beds per citizen as the UK. Similar success exists in infrastructure, from high-speed rail to energy.”
As for France’s “generalised hatred of commerce, capitalism, success and hard work”, the embassy wrote that if France genuinely shunned capitalism, “Xavier Niel, the French telecoms billionaire and media tycoon – to cite just one example – might never have had a chance to accumulate a fortune that exceeds Richard Branson’s”.
“This ultimate self-made man is now the sixth richest in France,” it added. “Success is clearly not a foreign concept to France.”
Read more: France's London embassy hits back at 'French-bashing' - France - France 24
City AM editor Allister Heath wrote on January 7: “France’s economic sickness is primarily due to its overbearing state, horrendously high tax levels, insane regulations, absurd levels of inefficient public spending and generalised hatred of commerce, capitalism, success and hard work.”
“Companies should not bother opening offices in France,” he added. “There are plenty of better places for them to allocate their cash in today’s global economy.”
And using the two countries’ health services as an example to rebut City AM’s claim of “absurd levels of inefficient public spending” in France, the embassy hit back calling Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) an “ailing institution” which had suffered “years of under-investment”.
“The French system, by comparison, which is also almost entirely free of charge, came top of 191 countries in the World Health Organization’s rankings for overall healthcare,” the embassy wrote.
“France also provides twice as many hospital beds per citizen as the UK. Similar success exists in infrastructure, from high-speed rail to energy.”
As for France’s “generalised hatred of commerce, capitalism, success and hard work”, the embassy wrote that if France genuinely shunned capitalism, “Xavier Niel, the French telecoms billionaire and media tycoon – to cite just one example – might never have had a chance to accumulate a fortune that exceeds Richard Branson’s”.
“This ultimate self-made man is now the sixth richest in France,” it added. “Success is clearly not a foreign concept to France.”
Read more: France's London embassy hits back at 'French-bashing' - France - France 24
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