Throughout our studies, we learn about the laws of the market economy. In reality, economic policies limit our room for maneuver. Even if they are beyond our control, knowing the history of national economic policies and understanding the whys and wherefores of the European Union’s construction will enable us to better grasp the economic challenges and issues of the day. Not being caught off guard and destabilized by government decisions allows us to derive maximum benefit from economic activities in our private and professional lives. French statesmen seem not yet to have really integrated the cyclicality of the market economy into their analyses and decision-making. The economic policy of most French governments, whether to the left or right of the political spectrum, has followed the same pattern for eighty years. Governments start handing out money at the start of their term, before taking stock of the situation and seeing whether there in fact is anything in the state coffers to hand out, or at least to think about how best to distribute it for the benefit not only of pressure groups, but above all of future generations.