Two Million French Have Escaped France

Anne Applebaum’s Washington Post column discusses the upcoming French election. But most relevant for fans of tax competition, she notes that two million French have fled the high taxes and economic stagnation of their home country. Not surprisingly, a poll reveals that the overwhelming majority of French expats are happy in countries with more opportunity. Applebaum also explains that Europe’s less competitive nations have been trying to export their anti-growth policies in an effort to “make life equally difficult everywhere.”

Standing in the heart of London's financial district, Sarkozy heaped compliments upon his country's historic enemy. The British capital was, he said, a "town that seems more and more prosperous and dynamic every time I come here." More important, it had become "one of the great French cities." He understood, furthermore, that hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen had moved to Britain because "they are risk-takers, and risk is a bad word" in France. ... [E]ven a Sarkozy victory in the final round of voting on Sunday won't persuade all of the 2 million-plus French exiles to go home. Asked by a French polling company, TNS Sofres, "Are you satisfied with your life abroad?" 93 percent of French emigres surveyed recently said "yes." ... [T]here is nothing odd about the fact that the French now vote with their feet. There are better-paying jobs in London, taxes are lower in London, the economy grows faster in London: C'est la vie -- and tough luck for Paris. ... For the past decade, French, German and other European leaders have tried to unify European tax laws and regulations, the better to "even out the playing field" -- or (depending on your point of view) to make life equally difficult everywhere.