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France's Industrial Power Trip - Germany Suffers
The pressure on France is showing. Germany may yet regret siding with Paris over Washington.Paris can't stop interfering with the economy -- and that's bad news for Europe In so many ways, French politician and presidential aspirant Nicolas Sarkozy is a breath of fresh air in French and European politics. At 49, he's a generation younger than most of France's top politicos. In contrast to the default anti-American attitudes of much of the French elite, Sarkozy underscores his admiration of the U.S. He wants to promote entrepreneurship, boost labor flexibility, and cut taxes. But when it comes to interfering in the French economy, Sarkozy is as old-style as they come. In fact, by the time he leaves the Finance Ministry on Nov. 28 to head France's ruling center-right party, Union for a Popular Movement, Sarkozy will have presided over some of the most intensely interventionist actions since French Socialists nationalized the country's large banks and industrial groups in 1982. From forcefully chaperoning the merger of two French pharmaceutical giants to shoring up ailing engineering group Alstom, Sarkozy has been giving new meaning to the old concept of dirigisme. A great country like France, Sarkozy recently told workers at state-subsidized shipyards, "couldn't just have banks, insurers, and tourism." Unfortunately, the traditional French sport of picking national champions is not likely to recede once Sarkozy departs the Finance Ministry. True, the headline-craving politician loves to play to the French electoral galleries. But there are other powerful forces behind the latest outbreak of French dirigisme. For one, it's a way to react to the in-your-face political assertiveness coming out of Washington. As President Jacques Chirac tirelessly reminds listeners, Europe has to stand up as a "counterweight" to the U.S. And if Europe wants to compete successfully with the U.S. on the world stage, it requires corporate giants of its own. It's a belief shared by many beyond France. "Europe needs industrial champions," says Europe's incoming Industry Commissioner, Guenter Verheugen of Germany. Posted by: anon 2004-11-24 |
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