France attacks 'ailing' NHS and claims it has better roads and rail Years of underinvestment forced the Blair government to allocate large sums of money to the NHS, and the current government has had to ring-fence funding for this ailing institution. Despite all this, difficulties remain; the mid-Staffordshire, Morecambe Bay and Colchester scandals illustrate how widespread problems in the NHS are. The French system, by comparison, which is entirely free of charge came top of 191 countries in the World Health Organisation's rankings for overall health care. France also provides twice as many hospital beds per citizen as the UK. Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, yesterday said: "We may face stiff competition from the French on cheese & wine, but there's a reason the NHS makes us more proud to be British than any other institution." The embassy goes on to criticise Britain's infrastructure. "Similar success exists in infrastructure, from high-speed rail to energy," it says. France has always sought to achieve greater efficiency and will continue to do so in spite of future budget cuts. Clearly, when you live in France - from health to infrastructure and energy costs to transport - you get more bang for your euro. Dominic Raab, a Conservative MP, said: "The histrionic reaction of the French Ambassador only magnifies the increasing sense of Gallic insecurity commentators talk about. There's a reason London is now the sixth largest French city, and that's because an increasing number of French workers recognise their socialist experiment has failed.  The embassy's intervention follows an article in the City A.M. newspaper which said that France's economic "sickness" was the product of an "overbearing state [and] horrendously high tax levels." François Hollande, the French President, last moth approved a 75 per cent tax rate for the highest earners, despite criticism that it would lead to an exodus of successful businessmen and women. However, the embassy claims that the French tax system is "fundamentally more redistributive" than Britain's. It also suggests that middle income earners face lower tax rates, with those earning more than £32,011 in Britain paying 40 per cent compared to a 30 per cent rate in France for those earning up to £59,0000 It says: "France's redistributive system is a political and social choice and one for which the French government takes full responsibility." The City A.M. column also suggests that France has a "generalised hatred of commerce." In response, the embassy says that the strong trade relationship between Britain and France means that Anglo-French relations are "unaffected by any generalised hatred." The embassy says the criticism "misreads both the actual situation in France - which remains the world's fifth biggest economy and number two in Europe - and the seriousness with which the French government has set about reforming the country."