PARIS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- France, which heads the elite global club of Group of Seven (G7) most advanced industrialized countries in 2019, has asked its partners to rebuild capitalism in a way that narrows the inequalities gap and softens the economic edges of globalization, the country's Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, said here on Tuesday.
"Capitalism has brought unprecedented prosperity to many nations and reduces inequality. But in recent years, the promise of prosperity for all is no longer held," Le Maire said.
Addressing a conference on "Redefining Capitalism in the 21st Century: More wealth, less inequality", the French minister said that promoting growth by squeezing social justice was an "unfair, wrong idea".
"We cannot always pay more for growth by more inequalities. We are at the end of this way of thinking. If politicians and companies do not take that into account, it's the people, those who do not live worthily from their work, that will make us do so," he stressed.
Mentioning the rolling "yellow vest" protests against high living costs, and which put President Emmanuel Macron's leadership to the test, Le Maire noted that "it's necessary to hear the warning signal of all those who say they do not take advantage of globalization."
Instead, the minister proposed to reshape capitalism to find the balance between economic progress and social justice.
"We want more prosperity. We want economic development. We want new technologies. We want a performing economy, but we want it to benefit everyone and not just a part of our fellow citizens," Le Maire said.
In this context, he called on France's G7 partners (the U.S., Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan) to support development in poor countries in order to fix problems linked to capitalism, such as migration.
"If we want to fight effectively against migration flows, barriers and walls will not be enough. What will be effective is the prospects open to all new generations in developing countries," he said.
