Le Figaro

“Buy French” Concept to Relaunch the Economy

05/12/2011 | Mise à jour : 16:33

To boost national production, the head of the centrist French Democratic Movement is encouraging citizens to “buy French.”
François Bayrou is the newest name on the list of candidates for the French presidency. Last Wednesday, Bayrou, a centrist, announced his third campaign for French president in Paris. He rose two and a half points in the last Ifop poll for the Web site Atlantico, earning 8.5% of intended votes and numerous figures of civil society voiced their support for his campaign.
“Europe isn’t built by two.”
Invited Sunday evening to speak on French radio show “Grand Jury RTL-LCI-Le Figaro,” Bayrou concentrated on European situation.
On one hand, Bayrou seconded recent explosive statements from French Prime Minister François Fillon who accused the French Socialist Party of being “germanophobe” because of their recent criticisms German euro zone policy. In his turn, Bayrou said that the Socialist Party criticisms of Germany were indeed “irresponsible.”
On the other hand, Bayrou himself criticized German and French relations. He denounced the “display” of partnership between French President Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, even going so far as to call it a “fictitious relationship.” According to Bayrou, the Franco-German couple is not actually “in agreement over anything.”
“Europe is not built by two, that won’t work,” Bayrou said.
He further criticized the two leaders for multiplying the number of press conferences without having any new information.
“They shouldn’t put themselves in command pretending to give the others instructions without ever being clear,” he said.
A French label
On the domestic front, Bayrou has been hammering his 2012 slogan: “Produce and Teach.”
For Bayrou, the solution for France isn’t to reduce the cost of labor for companies. Instead, he says France must “reconquer the markets” by improving the French label and inciting customers to “buy French.”
For him, this call to buy domestically “isn’t a bad word.”
“We are dying here and we need to reverse the movement and renew a desire to buy French,” he said. “It’s a civic step to take.”
Uniting France
In this vein, Bayrou also reminded listeners of his central offer to reunite the French in a “spirit of national unity.”
”There aren’t only two offers, Hollande or Sarkozy,” he said, despite recent polls that have showed a bipolarization of the elections, with Sarkozy and Hollande pulling ahead in the polls.