General De Gaulle complained saying: "How do you govern a country with more than 300 different cheeses?". A historic phrase to say that French industry needed to be rationalized and that the state should have done its part. That dirigisme, which was the basis for the creation of the first national "champions" such as Edf, Gaz de France, Air France, led a few presidents later, namely Mitterrand, to nationalize industries and banks with shortness of breath, on the verge of bankruptcy. Then, returned in the following years (see for example, Bnp) to the market.
It is these days the news that the French state has decided to intervene to the rescue of the Peugeot automotive group (which also includes the Citroen brand) to prevent it from closing its doors and leaving thousands of employees on the streets. The aid will make the "pure liberals" turn up their noses, but it certainly cannot be condemned. The automotive sector is in fact included in the list of those activities (along with, for example, aeronautics, defence, electronics, nuclear…) considered strategic by the country.
Activities, therefore, which must be defended and protected (Colbertism?) both from the attack of foreign competitors, and in the case of a profound economic-financial crisis as is the case of Peugeot. There is therefore nothing wrong, provided that the intervention of the State is limited in time and not too "suffocating". That is to say that the contribution is limited.
Paris' reasoning, put simply, is that the state must intervene in certain situations for the good of the country: in order not to waste resources, not to throw away twenty years of research, to preserve employment and therefore limit any social tensions in the Hexagon. Let's say that the governments that have followed one another in recent years (of the right or of the left) have always thought: first let's defend our interests, our "fleuron", then let's go and discuss. In particular with the EU which will certainly not be happy with the intervention of the French state in Peugeot.
What else to add? That France plays its cards well. He has also proved this in the recent past defending its industries and banks from foreign aims and demanding, in the case of cross-border mergers (see in the pharmaceutical sector) or in the case of consortia (Airbus) that the headquarters of the group and above all R&D remained in the Hexagon. As if to say that the most important thing is that the decision-making center of the company and everything related to innovation and intellectual property do not leave the country.
The Peugeot case will therefore set the standard again, even if it is in line and in total consistency with the French esprit. So, bien jouè, Monsieur Hollande.
