University of Lausanne France's Economics Minister Le Maire becomes a lecturer in Switzerland

From politics to research: outgoing French Economics Minister Le Maire will teach economics and geopolitics at the University of Lausanne, but wants to continue living in France.

France's outgoing Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire is moving to Switzerland as a lecturer. He will teach economics and geopolitics at the University of Lausanne, said Le Maire on the occasion of his departure from office in Paris. However, he will remain living in France. Following the parliamentary elections and the appointment of Michel Barnier as the new French Prime Minister, the appointment of a new government in France is imminent. Le Maire had previously announced that he would not continue in office.

In a farewell speech, Le Maire (55), who belongs to President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party, referred to the economic progress made in France during his time in office since 2017. The reindustrialization of the country had been set in motion and, contrary to the trend of French bashing, the disparagement of France from an economic perspective, France had become the most attractive business location in Europe. Unemployment has fallen and growth in France is higher than in the UK, Italy and Germany, said Le Maire.

However, the Minister of the Economy leaves office with mixed results. The state of France's public finances had recently deteriorated considerably. The EU Commission is already pursuing deficit proceedings against France due to excessive new borrowing. The goal of gradually bringing new borrowing back below the European limit of three percent now seems a long way off. With a public debt level of 110% of gross domestic product, France remains one of the worst performers in the eurozone.

SDA