As recently as 2012 France’s public road system was ranked the best in the world, but a new report from the World Economic Forum has dropped France all the way to 18th place. RNA - Worsened road conditions translates into more road deaths, more accidents and increased daily aggravation which reduces quality of life.
France has the continent’s largest road system, comprising 20% of all the roads in Europe. Their poor infrastructure is certain to provoke decreased economic performance across the entire Eurozone, which has already suffered from a “Lost Decade” of economic growth.
The main reason for the drop in the rankings is a 20% cut in the budget for road repairs in recent years, as France has embraced far-right economic austerity and orders from Brussels to reduce state spending.
Since 2010 austerity cuts have caused France to lose their top spot as the world’s best health care system. Their mediocre pension system has also dropped in the global rankings, with President Emmanuel Macron in the middle of forcing through another unpopular rollback to the pension system.
France embarked on a massive privatization of its toll road highways in 2007. It now costs a whopping 60 euros in tolls just to drive from Paris to Marseille, the nation’s second-largest city, along the Mediterranean Sea. Increased driving costs were the spark which set off the Yellow Vest anti-government demonstrations 11 months ago.
Ramin Mazaheri/Press TV
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