What’s more, France’s share of world exports stands at about a half of what it was when the euro was formed. And export prospects don’t look good, not least because France is heavily dependent upon the weak peripheral economies, which take about 20pc of her exports, compared with only 13pc of Germany’s. Admittedly, the employment picture is not as bad as in Spain or Greece. But it is still pretty terrible. The unemployment rate is 11pc, compared with 5.4pc in Germany. Over the past two years, the UK has created more than 400,000 jobs, while France has created fewer than 90,000.