George Osborne 's taunts have hit a nerve in Paris , after the Chancellor boasted that Britain 's booming economy was storming ahead of France . Senior Tories have repeatedly contrasted the UK 's strong recovery with the sluggish growth and high unemployment on the other side of the Channel where socialist Francois Hollande has floundered . Now French minister Segolene Royal has hit back at the 'spiteful and inappropriate ' attacks , and warning : 'What goes around comes around . ' French minister Segolene Royal ( left ) has hit back after George Osborne repeatedly contrasted the UK 's strong recovery with the sluggish growth and high unemployment on the other side of the Channel . In his Budget statement last week , Mr Osborne made several references to Britain 's strong growth compared to France . He mocked the high rate of French unemployment , quipping that one English county - Yorkshire - had created more jobs than the whole of France . He pointed to forecasts suggesting the British economy grew by 2.6 per cent last year , '50 per cent faster than Germany , three times faster than the euro-zone – and seven times faster than France ' . He and the Prime Minister also pointed to the UK 's nearest continental neighbour as a lesson of why Labour - whose leader closely associated himself with the approach of Socialist Party president Francois Hollande - would be bad for Britain . He and the Prime Minister also pointed directly to the UK 's nearest continental neighbour as a lesson of why Labour - whose leader Ed Miliband closely associated himself with the approach of Socialist Party president Francois Hollande - would be bad for Britain . 'Our economy is growing seven times faster than France 's , ' Mr Cameron wrote in the Sunday Times . 'Imagine if Miliband had been free to pursue his French dream : the fallout would be felt in catastrophic job losses , falling living standards , eye-watering debt and fast-diminishing hope in our future . ' The UK economy has enjoyed much stronger growth than France since the crash in 2008 , according to Eurostat . Unemployment has also fallen more sharply in the UK than on the other side of the Channel where more than 10 per cent were out of work in 2014 . Asked about the attacks , Ms Royal told BBC2 's Newsnight : ' I am very surprised by what I consider to be something which seems so far removed from the traditional British sense of fair play . 'It is rather condescending . It seems a little spiteful and inappropriate . ' European countries 'should all stand together when any country is in difficulty ' , she said . 'When a country like the UK is facing difficulty , we do n't make fun . In your country your budget deficit is much greater than it is in France , we do n't have take pleasure from it . 'In the end , what goes around comes around . ' Ms Royal is the ex-partner of Mr Hollande . The pair , who have four children together , never married , reportedly because they considered it 'too bourgeois ' . The French economy has struggled since the financial crisis as it struggles to reform its bloated public sector . Ms Royal has four children with French President Francois Hollande , who has had a string of relationships since they split in 2007 . London Mayor Boris Johnson added to the row today , by again taunting the French over their economy . But London Mayor Boris Johnson added to the row today , by again taunting the French . In an appearance on LBC Radio , he claimed talented people are fleeing 'crazed socialist ' France as part of an attack he launched on Labour leader Ed Miliband . The mayor said : ' ( Labour ) have an overt admiration for the way things are done in France , where they have unemployment now running at around 12 per cent . 'You 've got huge numbers of talented French people fleeing France at the moment because it 's a crazed socialist , 1970s version of a European economy . '
Senior Tories say the state of France 's economy justifies their policies . But top French politician Boris Johnson has called for solidarity . She insists Britain is not that strong and 'what goes around comes around ' Segolene Royal wades into row today saying France is stuck in the 1970s .