"...But mandatory vacation days and high unemployment benefits?... This is a problem in Germany. One of the reasons only big companies can exist there. Some pe

"...But mandatory vacation days and high unemployment benefits?... This is a problem in Germany. One of the reasons only big companies can exist there. Some people there are having 3 month vacation. "...the costs of firing are so high..." It is very hard to fire there because of the Unions. "...And France isn't a nation of small businesses. Their best industries seem to be those really complicated infrastructure ones that require a lot of state intervention (bullet trains, nuclear reactors) and luxury goods (LV)..." Absolutely right. You can extend this statement to other countries in Europe as well.