The crisis has shown the dangers of too free enterprise

Under the title "The imperative" industrial, I, in a book published there is already a long time, recalled that "the France has an industry so it must have an industrial policy".

These last two words were shocked into a universe of liberalism where any State intervention was considered harmful.

The times have changed and this is not a thin paradox to see the State organize, at the request of the CGT, the States General of the industry.

Nicolas Sarkozy had set the tone, already during the presidential campaign, from deliberately in the factories say its support to an industrial France. That he had managed to do so, as Minister, with the rescue of Alstom, he tried to continue with Gandrange, Continental, Heuliez and many others. Even if success is not always to the appointment, the effort is there and it is meritorious in a country that has never really liked its industry.

At the time where the Juppe-Rocard commission has to make its findings on the uses to make the great future loan, it is good to remind the State some humility in his ability to industrial choices. The Polytechnique, which I am giving the France some industrial success, but also some failures colossal, due to the inability of the engineers to subordinate their taste for the technique to the severity of the market. We have thus wasted many billions in the sector who also remained the and nuclear graphite-gas in the tube to grid of television, in the process the Rance, to name but a few of our unique prototypes Secam in the Plan calculation, in the Skytrain in the Concorde, in tidal power plant.

Besides, everyone knows that we would have no nuclear industry, aviation industry or space industry if the State took no initiative.

Then, to do and what not to do

It seems to me that all art is to distinguish between the tip and the submerged part of the iceberg against which we risk smash us.

The tip, the smaller part, it is, eh, Yes! It is "the crisis", which everyone speaks, born of "sub-prime" Americans a year ago with the collapse of the banking system and the disappearance of the growth, with its lot of factories have become unnecessary in a market in recession.

Well, this is only the small part of the problem: already seen well, the banking system is adjusted, growth has returned to Asia, some indicators in Europe and the United States are less negative. There is hope that, after eighteen months, growth can return and that the decisions of the g-20 will moralisé and regulated financial system to make it happen again.

Rest the submerged part, that it is not or, more accurately, that is not to see: the emergence of China and the India on Western markets. Our factories do not close because of the crisis, they close mainly because China, year after year since its entry into the world Organization of commerce in the beginning of the century, offers us more competitive than our products. For its part, the India makes more t-shirts in white cotton, but is the world leader in generic drugs and any part of it.

Then, in France as in Europe, is closed or (and) are relocating. In France, we are witnessing an extraordinary decoupling of our large industrial companies, those of the CAC 40, which are completely internationalised, produce where it is cheaper, sell where is the market, and our industrial jobs which are shrinking in the Sun.

The first is to identify what Ricardo, English Economist, called the "comparative advantages": England know produce the fabric, the Spain knew produce wine and each was therefore to specialize and trade. Well, in a detail about: apart from the Sun, these "comparative advantages" are neither immutable nor eternal, as seen with the English textile. So we must not only identify, but especially to "manufacture" our comparative advantages. This is exactly the basic idea of our competitiveness poles, connecting research and production.

Hence the second route: France-India-France-China industrial partnerships. When you can not defeat a competitor, the wisdom is to ally with him. I think that China and the India would be interested in a process of broad consultation for the establishment of partnerships and employment in France, between groups Chinese and French groups. Do not enter the Wolf in sheep's clothing, because it is already, is organizing in partnership which is today a confrontation. There is a still almost unexplored path which can be very rich of jobs for the France.

Finally, because one can always dream, there is room for international action of regulation, which does not simply fighting of exchange rates, to avoid that unbridled free trade turns to the drying out of the purchasing power of Western places in turn exchanges.

The crisis has shown the dangers of "too free enterprise." Will we be able to avoid the pitfalls of "too free trade" without falling into protectionism entirely out of the question