Economy and Business”
“What is dirigisme and to what extent does it influence the economy and business in France?
LET 151 Lecture Module 5 “Economy and Business” The French economy is one of the world’s largest, ranking always in the top ten and some years as high as the fifth largest. Business Success France leads the world in many domains. Areva is the world leader in nuclear energy. Vinci Construction is the world leader in construction. Total is France’s largest company, and one of the world’s largest energy companies. Many people are familiar with France’s luxury goods, like Louis Vuitton leather goods, Chanel perfumes, and Christian Dior evening gowns. Lesser know French products may surprise you. For instance, Motel 6 is owned by the French Accor group of hotels. Boston’s Bunker Hill bridge uses stay cables designed by the French company Freysinnet. And Nissan cars can be said to be roughly half French since Renault and Nissan formed a strategic partnership in 1999. Take a look at page 180 in Helen Drake’s Contemporary France to see the names of more French companies. The article entitled “France Sees Surge in Foreign Investment” gives some indications of France’s competitiveness in today’s world. Economics Overall, France is a capitalist country today.1 But France also has a long tradition of state-intervention or “dirigisme” with respect to the economy. The “dirigiste” tradition precedes the Revolution and is partly the reason for the glory of seventeenth-century France. With the advent of the Revolution, a new value entered economic matters – the public good. This notion of national solidarity, or the third term in the revolutionary slogan of “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité,” has molded France’s economic matters ever since. The French Revolution was largely about eliminating “privilège,” that is, exclusive rights or special exceptions to certain people or certain regions. So the French have a tendency to believe that the economy must benefit everyone and that this can best be done through centralized decisions. In the US, the tendency is to believe something almost the opposite of this. Americans tend to believe that individual gain is the best way to ensure the economy benefits everyone. In actual practice, the economies of the two countries probably are generally fairly close, but the underlying beliefs are starkly different. Read Drake’s pages carefully to get more information on dirigisme. Other Readings You will also read two parts of Adam Gopnik’s Paris to the Moon. As you read, “The Strike” you will get some insights into French economic practices and the country’s centralization. He mentions how France is centralized around Paris (in a way all roads and railroads mostly do lead to Paris. Also, 20% of France’s population lives in the Paris area. Most companies have their headquarters there. One quarter of all university students attend schools in the Paris area. It’s like New York, Washington DC, and LA all in one). The strike itself is the reason I chose the chapter. In France, workers tend to take an adversarial role in respect to management. Thus, the rule seems to be “Strike 1 The Communists are an obvious exception. Some of the Socialists are also exceptions, but since roughly the middle of Mitterrand’s first term, the Socialist Party accepts a market-based economic system. first, negotiate later.” Note, however, that union membership is higher in the US than in France. In talking about the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, James Corbett notes on page 223 of Through French Windows that “The trouble is that issues that never make it to the National Assembly tend to explode in the streets.” Thus, the Fifth Republic can be seen as the root cause of France’s strikes. In “The Tower” Gopnik relates a funny and true incident that reveals some interesting cultural differences. Commerce is the US is highly service-oriented. In France, it is more trade-oriented. Waiters, for instance, in France go through training and are licenced to exercise their trade (métier, in French). You don’t tip them because the tip in included in the bill (service compris). In my opinion, the tip is included because the waiters have professional pride and will do a good job to honor their trade. The idea of “serving” a table to earn a good tip seems vaguely humiliating. It’s a lot like Gopnik’s idea of “producerism.” The newspaper articles deal with some important issues. The one entitled “French Paradox at Work” is about a really important and controversial aspect of French life today – the 35-hour work week. As you read it, think about who proposed it and why. Then chart the pros and cons of it for both workers and employers. And then you should read the follow-up on the 35-hour work in the other article “France to Let Companies Scrap 35-Hour Week.”
