PROBLEMS OF FRANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 134, 8 June 1936, Page 6

PROBLEMS OF FRANCE.

A new legislative programme designed to cure the financial ills from which France is suffering has been announced by M. Blum, the new Premier, but day by day the position of the (Country grows rapidly worse. Strikes of the lightning type are developing all over France, and the settlement of some only serves to open the way to a new crop, as the concessions obtained by one group are demanded by others. The devaluation of the franc was opposed before the election by all parties, but there are reports of a change of . feeling on the part of some of the big financial institutions, including the Bank of France. The external pressure on the. franc could to some extent at least be relieved by exchange restrictions and other methods, but the internal pressure, now being so very strongly felt, is much more difficult to control, especially with the continuous demands for increased wages which the over-valued gold franc have caused. „• The devaluationists contend that an alteration in the currency basis will immediately improve economic conditions and enable higher wages to be paid for shorter hours. M. Blum has promised both of these, but while industrial troubles are so widespread he has little chance of redeeming his promises. The situation is a foreboding one, and unfortunately there is doubt as to whether the new Ministry has sufficient force to cope with it.