Philip Gordon, Experte in europäischen Angelegenheiten an der Brookings Institution Washington D.C., stellt in Le Figaro fest, dass die französische Wirtschaftspolitik trotz Globalisierung noch immer protektionistisch ist.
Summary:
The strong reactions to the rumour of Danone being bought by U.S soft drinks giant PepsiCo testifies how the French remain particularly protectionist regarding their industries and versus globalisation.
Philip Gordon explains that this rejection of globalisation is due to the fact that „globalisation directly threatens the etatistic political and economical tradition of France, a tradition which is still very present“. Furthermore, „the governments‘ expenses represent 54% of the French GNP which is much higher than in other EU countries“.
Hence, Philip Gordon argues that French government representatives should be more honest and teach their citizens that firstly, a successful economy nowadays needs to be an open-minded economy embracing the world market, and that secondly, cheap import or American industries taking over French companies are for the country’s own benefit as it lowers prices, makes companies more profitable and creates jobs.
In this context, Philip Gordon also questions Dominique de Villepin’s strategy in the case of protecting Danone, for instance, as if a “ ‚French‘ Danone succeeds less than a ‚global‘ Danone, is it then still ‚patriotic‘ to protect it?“
The EU leaders will now meet on 27-28 October 2005 in Hampton Court to discuss the effects of globalisation (see EURACTIV, 12 Oct. 2005)). This may trigger a period of reflection among the French government about the future of the country’s economy.
To read the article in full, visit The Brookings Institution website