If you have to compare the UK and France on free market vs "protectionist and bureacratic" (i disagree, there are but notes of protectionism sometimes - e.g. Alsthom power was sold to GE without the most important bits, but it was sold nonetheless), which is better for the everyday humans? A couple of examples spring to mind, all of which are extremely disfavourable towards the UK, so please help me have a more nuanced argument:

* The privatisation of UK railways has been an unmitigated disaster

* The privatisation and selling off of various UK heavy industries (like steel, automobiles, trains, aeroplanes, shipbuilding) has been somewhat of a disaster with the majority of it closing, and the rest being foreign owned. Where the UK were a leader in many areas, they no longer are, with a drastic impact on the people who used to work there. As a counterpoint, France has managed to maintain shipbuilding, airplane, train construction at a pretty good level.

* Where the UK is "better" is financial services - IMO in part due to the English language, in part due to money laundering with the help of the various crown tax havens; and the startup scene - again the English language surely helped, but so did less rigorous labour laws (and that has been slightly relaxed in France).

Anything else come to mind?