France & Globalization

How globalisation is affecting society, economy and culture in France?

« Globalization is defined as a process that, based on international strategies, aims to expand business operations on a worldwide level, and was precipitated by the facilitation of global communications due to technological advancements, and socioeconomic, political and environmental developments. »

The nature of the French economy has changed radically in recent years. Many observers have focused on France’s resistance to globalization symbolized by the actions of the sheep farmer José Bové, who in August 1999 dismantled a McDonald’s restaurant to protest against US sanctions, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and globalization in general. France, of course, is hardly the only country worried about the consequences of globalization, and the street protests that took place at the November 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle showed that even in the United States many are apprehensive. Yet given the widespread public support for Bové in France, the countless number of articles, books, and TV programs denouncing globalization, and the rhetoric of French politicians about the need to master globalization, it is easy to understand why there has been far more focus on France’s resistance to globalization than on its adaptation.

The French economy's adaptation to globalization during the last twenty to thirty years has been remarkable. We should not forget that twenty years ago when the left came to power they wanted to end capitalism and flirted with the idea of economic isolationism. Today this same left is managing an unprecedented international integration of the French economy: international trade has risen to 25% of the gross domestic produce (GDP); French privatized companies conduct mergers and acquisitions everywhere in the world and like never before; foreign direct investment (into and originating from France) has never been as high; the single European market for goods, services, and capital exists and functions; nearly 40%, on average, of the stocks on the French market (la Bourse) are held by foreigners; many "French" companies such as Alcatel, Renault, and Michelin earn more than half of their revenue overseas.

The most fascinating part of this is that French leaders refuse to admit it. Faced with a public that always counts on the state to provide jobs, to insure social protection, and to guarantee pensions, French politicians do not want to admit that they have, in reality, less and less control of the levers of the French economy.

Breaking with its mercantilist and dirigiste past, France has since the early 1980s converted to market liberalization, both as the necessary by product of European integration and globalization and as a deliberate effort by policymakers. Whereas the French state used to own large sectors of the economy, partly to keep them from foreign control, now even a Socialist-led government proceeds with privatization, with scant regard for the nationality of the buyer. France’s adaptation to the global world economy is finally paying off in terms of performance, which is now arguably better than it has been since the 1960s. It seems that for many in France, the loss of state control and growing inequalities that result from globalization may be a price worth paying for increased prosperity and jobs.