France is in crisis. In this provocative book, Timothy Smith argues that the French economic and social model is collapsing inward on itself, the result of good intentions, bad policies, and vested interests who employ the rhetoric of 'solidarity' and the specter of globalization to prevent change.

Timothy Smith argues that the French economic and social model is imploding on itself despite good intentions. Bad policies and vested interests that exploit the rhetoric of "solidarity" and the specter of globalization have prevented necessary changes from being effected. Making frequent comparisons with the U.S., U.K., Canada, Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands, Smith argues that change need not follow the inegalitarian U.S. or British paths in order to lead to a more balanced French society.