It's also hard to get the economy going when everyone is a socialist. Kind of reminds me of the days before UPS when I would go to the post office. There would be a long line with one person working at the window and four people doing absolutely nothing but shooting the bull. The guy doing all the window work was rude and in no rush. If you didn't like it you could drive your letter to wherever it was going. No competition ...no worries. It must be hell living in Paris.
Their aim was to make it a common market, but they did not understand that the whole reason for a common market was to increase competition. They don't have a competitive system anyway. Their economies are run by politicians.