Introduction:

Catherine Mathieu and Henri Sterdyniak, in "Global financial crisis: the French policy answer in a EU perspective" then look more specifically at the 'return of Keynesianism' in France. The authors state that the 2007-2009 crisis has led to a return of Keynesian analyses and policies, which contrasts with the 1980-2007 period when liberal analyses and policies were prevailing. However, this return of Keynesian analyses and policies is seen to be problematic, since the pre-crisis mainstream liberal views matched the interests of the new leading classes, the beneficiaries of financial and economic globalisation. The authors explain that the French President Nicolas Sarkozy had the objective of introducing a break in the French model ? based on large redistribution, public spending and taxation - which was assumed to be detrimental to labour, saving, investment and competitiveness. But the crisis has led him to call for a re-foundation of capitalism, which would reduce the weight of finance at the benefit of entrepreneurs and workers. Nicolas Sarkozy endorses French traditional views on the importance of world governance, financial regulation and government support for domestic industries. French stimulus measures have been limited, and hardly targeted on the victims of the crisis: the unemployed - especially the young - and companies and industry sectors in difficulty. But the French economy was less affected than other economies thanks to the size of its automatic stabilisers, and to its financial and economic archaisms. Yet, the government has not abandoned the objective of large public expenditure cuts, which it could impose in the coming years under the EU commitments on bringing budgetary positions into balance and under rating agency threats.