Beware Unintended Consequences of Political Stunts Like France’s Short-Distance Flight Ban 

President Macron appears to have ignored his countryman Frederic Bastiat’s essay about the perils of government intervention, ‘That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen.’

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Charles-de-Gaulle airport in 2010 at Paris. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Too many politicians are thespians. When there’s a conflict — as there often is — between appearing to solve problems and actually helping to solve those problems, politicians can almost always be counted on to put appearance over substance. 

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