If you could only rely on The Economist’s covers and slogans to understand the world, you would be forgiven for thinking that France was some kind of sclerotic, impoverished, quasi-Soviet nation of losers, persisting in its misguided ways and refusing to heed Anglo-wisdom through Gallic delusion and sheer pigheadedness.
Indeed, every few months or so the venerable British magazine churns out a cover against France showing that the country is clueless, has been taken over by Muslims, must elect a Thatcher, must elect Sarko (who then proved awesome and non-existent), is flaccid, is in denial, and must not elect this dangerous man.
Of course, some of these are just playful attempts to boost airport kiosk sales (the Eiffel Tower is too iconic to not use), but most of them are exactly what they suggest: frontal attacks against the French economic and social model in particular, and the welfare state and government intervention in general.
