Christian Saint-Étienne has been a chair professor of industrial economics in France’s National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM), since 2009. Prior to that, he taught for 20 years at Paris-Dauphine University. He is the recipient of numerous academic awards, most notably the Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize, of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, in 2012.
He is the author of France: état d’urgence and L’Iconomie pour sortir de la crise, both published in 2013 by Editions Odile Jacob.

Is the French economy still capable of growth? How can we explain the current failure to obtain positive results: have there been too many or not enough reforms? Should deficits be allowed to soar in order to revive the economy — as some economists have suggested?
Christian Saint-Étienne continues his reflection on the question he began studying in France: état d’urgence and L’Iconomie: if France is to finally succeed in completing its third industrial revolution, it will require profound transformations — and economic reforms alone will not suffice. Political reforms are equally necessary.
Criticising the French elites for their lack of strategic thinking, the author reviews the errors of the past thirty years, notably the devastating fiscal pressure brought to bear in 2012, which especially targeted productive capital. And though he makes new proposals aimed at reviving the country’s productive capacities, he also stresses that attitudes will have to be profoundly changed in order to re-energise a sense of initiative and to restore trust in the elites.
The author argues that the implementation of certain key measures would facilitate the emergence of a new, more dynamic French nation. And he reasserts his conviction that France still possesses numerous assets that render success entirely accessible.

• Clear and pedagogical, Christian Saint-Étienne is also keenly enthusiastic when he writes about France.
• A strong demonstration that current French problems are political rather than economic.