The Economics of France .
Everyone interested in the world's prospect from the economic angle looks out for Sir. Robert Cahill's annual report on the economics of France'. This year he stresses the extent to which this country, which had more pre- tentions to a balanced and self-contained economy than . any other in Western Europe, is becoming, like the rest, lop-sidedly dependent on exports. Although 38 per cent. of the population is engaged in agriculture and 49 per cent, still live in communes with under 2,000 inhabitants; the 'rest work more and more for foreign markets, since post-War technological develop: ments have pushed their production, in many different lines, far beyond what the home market can consume. Cartels and . trading combines are prevalent in con- sequence, though a feeling against over-enlarging actual fusions still prevails. Sir Robert Cahill thinks that for France the depression has passed its worst. He puts the present real unemployment figures at about a million. But this is only the second line of the, unemployed army. The first, on which the brunt fell, was . composed of the industrial immigrants—Belgians, Poles, Italians, Czechs, and so on ; who, when industry had no more use for them, were simply bundled out of the country.
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