To be even more pedantic, saying France is not as bad as other countries is hardly a point in favor of France's medium-term growth prospects.

I don't want to give a point-by-point rebuttal. I just find the whole column facile, argumentative, and not befitting HackerNews. I'd rather not be facile and argumentative in expressing that opinion.

The responses I've been getting here have been arguing or reiterating Krugman's points, not convincing me that it's good content for HackerNews.

Again, there are many other aggregators more suitable for this sort of column.