The diploma thesis focuses on the reform of the bank sector of France passed by the legislators in 2013. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the overall characteristics of the French economy and on the macroeconomic development of the country since 2008. The second part describes the bank system of France and contains stress tests performed at selected bank institutions. The final part focuses on the actual reform of the bank system and portrays some concrete measures taken. The thesis also contains a brief comparison of the bank reform made in 2009 in Spain and the reform that is currently taking place in France.

Globally, developed economies show the largest gender gaps in entrepreneurial activity. This analysis examines one potential cause of low rates of female entrepreneurship, work-family policies, specifically in France. The objective of this paper is to test whether or not there is a relationship between entrepreneurship and childcare accessibility in France, and if this relationship exists, to learn about its nature. Using data from 2009 to 2013, probit regressions are run for different outcomes of entrepreneurial activity with early childhood care aid eligibility as the explanatory variable of interest. These regressions are run separately for men and women and for the whole sample. This paper does not find conclusive evidence that childcare accessibility significantly affects the probability that one is involved in entrepreneurial activity either for women or for the whole sample. However, it does suggest that if the relationship is significant, childcare aid has a negative impact on the decision for entrepreneurship. Finally, I consider other variables closely correlated with childcare financial aid that may negatively impact involvement in entrepreneurial activity.

The diploma paper describes social and economic development of France since the Second World War until today with the focus on main economic issues of each decade. The special attention is drawn to the french labour market and its reforms. Final part of the paper focuses on impacts of the global financial crisis on the french economy.