No doubt this has something to do with the fact that France is one of the only countries in the euro area whose external accounts are in the red. However, the euro area as a whole is running a current account surplus: the solution for France, therefore, is to improve its competitiveness, which is indeed what the government plans to do.
Nevertheless, our understanding of the empirical relationships and of the theoretical underpinnings of those relationships remains incomplete. Substantial progress has been made, but we should hope that future research will help to untangle the remaining puzzles. This research agenda is important for the advancement of economic understanding and the conduct of monetary policy.