They're definitely in deep economic trouble. The French economy hasn't expanded in real terms in about two decades, not since 1995 or so. That can only go on for so long until the mounting problems begin to drown you.

And then there's this:

"France’s unemployment rate rose 1.1 percent in the month of February, pushing jobless numbers to a record 3.591 million people, the Labour Ministry said Thursday."

http://www.france24.com/en/20160324-french-unemployment-hits...