The difference in business costs between Germany and France

The difference in costs between France and Germany is a vast subject of debate. There are an increasing number of studies about this, but these studies are often conducted from a macro-economic point of view. For Henri Lagarde, who runs an SME (small or medium-sized entreprise), the results of these studies did not show the existence of an increasingly large discrepancy in fiscal and social costs and flexibility. He carried out a careful study on the tax situation which exists in each country and, with help from Clément Kopp, carried out stress tests to study the way in which companies deal with the variations in the current economic situation. The results of this 'micro' analysis are surprising and worrying. According to their authors, they help us to understand, on a 'macro' level, the reasons for the decline in the trade balance, the collapse of industrial productivity and loss of employment. This subject was hotly debated by those in the audience.