I don't mean to pick on the French. Truth be told, I'm an unabashed Francophile. I love their food, adore their language and admire their culture. But when it comes to high-tech innovation, there's no escaping the fact that France does not punch its weight.
The Israelis may be a special case. Still, when conversations turn to technology, France regularly gets overlooked in favor of economic basket cases-turned-tigers such as South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China, Singapore and India. Considering that the French invented the word "entrepreneur," this is a source of some irritation among the French political elite who bristle when outsiders innocently offer up the comparisons.
"There is the sense that we are old-fashioned, unproductive, too obsessed with the quality of life," said Clara Gaymard, president of the Invest in France Agency and a special representative for international investment. "France actually has a higher percentage of 20- to 29-year-olds with qualifications in science or technology than the U.S. or the U.K."
Gaymard was in Silicon Valley this week to try to puncture some of the myths she said have grown up around what has been referred to as the French Paradox.
Paradox it sure is. There's no shortage of technical ability in France--but a brain drain is hurting the company's economy. About 200,000 French men and women, graduates of their country's best technical schools, are living in the Bay Area, part of the reason there's a technology gap. However, for all of Gaymard's optimism about her country's future as a tech leader--and she was spot-on message during a two-day conference devoted to the subject of France and high-tech, the problem isn't easily given to resolution. Consider some recent history...
When France's then-Prime Minister Lionel Jospin returned home from a tour of Silicon Valley in 1999, he was determined to spur job growth and innovation. One idea he pushed through was a tax cut on stock-option earnings. So far, so good. But Jospin also made government responsible for promoting industry incubators, directing seed money to tech start-ups. That's where history and political culture trump the needs of the market.
There's a long history of "etatism" in France that you can trace back to the days of Mazarin and Louis XIV. So it was no shock to see the French government come to the assistance of Bull in 2002 to prevent the collapse of that one-time flagship company. There was hardly a murmur of domestic protest when the government provided a 450 million euro rescue loan. (However, the move got Paris in trouble with the then-EU competition commissioner Mario Monti. The French government announced a year later it would no longer be a stakeholder after Bull completed restructuring.)
On this side of the Atlantic, that approach to the market is simply radioactive. Chrysler got away with it, but when was the last time a U.S. tech company walked away with a federal bailout? When Digital Equipment was on all fours, it got sold to Compaq Computer. And when Compaq got wobbly, Hewlett-Packard snapped it up. You're never going to see Gates or the other digerati testifying before Congress on why bailouts are in the national interest.
For better and for worse, the French government was also the driving force in the development of the Minitel network.
In response to a presidential request, a report got written in the early 1970s by a couple of bureaucrats named Simon Nora and Alain Minc. Their work, The Computerization of Society, went on to become a best seller in France and provided the intellectual backdrop for the country's politicians to push into the digital age. At the time the government controlled France Telecom, and the phone company's customers received free electronic terminals.
Minitel was a fit for the 1980s but it was tres passe once the tidal wave that was the Internet hit the shores on both sides of the Atlantic. It's no accident that France is still waiting to produce its first Internet powerhouse. That sort of thing comes out of the rough-and-tumble of chaotic competition.
I spoke with Valerie Gauthier, dean of the prestigious HEC MBA program in Paris. She cautioned me not to fall for the easy stereotype--in many cases the problem is one of awareness.
"Lots of new technologies are getting developed in France," she said, "such as the ones that went into the Airbus. That's not being widely communicated."
Gauthier may have a point. But no amount of spin and marketing is enough if you don't have the goods. And so far France still has not risen to the challenge.
Biography
Charles Cooper is CNET News.com's executive editor of commentary.
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La France"'. Historically, French colonial activity has been a rape
of the local people and culture. Militarily, the French have been a
fi=unctional disaster. Culturally, French art does merit some
kudos, but French courture is phoney, and French cooking still is
little more than a means to cover up unpalatable food (even tho
the food may no longer be that bad). And in government, the
approach is 'All for France, Nothing for Anyone Else'. Frannce's
(and German's) refusal to participate int he Iraqi War was mostly
due to an attmept to protect very lucrative contracts wth
Saddarm directly , or with his government.
So why would anyone expect a French business to have any
basic qualities for inclusion in non-French stock markets?
My home country is full of flaws, so is any country. And you mix up so many things.
Maybe you should learn French, take a leave and spend 3 months there and learn before talking.
They lend French engineers and technologists to U.S. companies for a year at a time. More details in an article here:
http://energypriorities.com/entries/2004/11/easenergy_inves.html
Your comments are quite biased! France did to his colonies, very much like the US did (and do) to many others (South America ?) , and both countries cannot be proud of it! And if France didn't join the US in Irak, at least his government didn't lie as much as Mr Bush did on the real reasons for the war. As far as cooking I still prefer french, italian, chinese food than macdos, at least to avoid obesity and hidden additives!! Concerning culture, no comments! too much is too much! What about the Fox TV network and the current "killing" of NPR ?
We do remember what the US did for us and thanks them, but don't you think that you are going too far and lack of both historical knowledge and propose a one sided vision ?
Seems reasonable to me..
To generate business successes, markets need more than graduates of "technical schools" and government spending on projects (think Minitel) of dubious value.
They need:
(a) A reasonable, predictable legal environment that lets companies hire and fire people readily. This sounds harsh, but it lets firms get rid of slackers who can't or won't pull their own weight. This is not the case in many European countries.
(b) A reasonable tax environment that encourages entrepreneurs. This is not the case with tax-happy France. One report says: "France, with income tax rates as high as 57 percent, collects only about 6 percent of GDP from that tax. The United States, with federal tax rates below 40 percent, collects about 11 percent of GDP." Check out the OECD's own stats:
http://www.oecd.org/LongAbstract/0,2546,en_2649_201185_1942475_1_1_1_1,00.html
The total tax burden for the average worker is 48.3 percent in France, 50.7 percent in Germany, and an astonishing 52.6 percent in Hungary. Compare this to a total tax rate in Ireland of just 25.8 percent and the United Kingdom of 29.7 percent--the two countries that are most like the U.S. in political temperament and are therefore more attractive for business investment.
(c) A reasonable entrepreneurial environment that fosters risk-taking. Again, this is not the case in France, where the government is busy creating Minitel and funding Airbus. While French bureaucrats were busy creating Minitel in the 1980s, U.S. entrepreneurs were busy creating The Source, Compuserve, AOL, and so on -- which laid the foundation for the Internet boom of the 1990s.
Also, how long does it take to get a business license in France? How easy is it to switch from the equivalent of an S-corp to a C-corp? How much does the corporate veil protect investors and entrepreneurs? These are all important questions.
(d) A reasonable approach to other cultures and languages. French First is not necessarily the way to go. Broadly speaking, French is a beautiful but a dying language; English is the language of the Internet, aviation, and business. Adapt or die.
I've written more about all this here:
http://news.com.com/What+Europe+still+doesnt+get/2010-1028_3-5241683.html
I love French wine and French cheese and the French people. But I'm no fan of their government, and they shouldn't be either.
-Declan
a) True. Though you can hire people and have them go through a trial period of up to six months (2x3 months) and slackers can be spotted very quickly - at the beginning. The issue is how quickly you can rif people, and rehire, to track economic up-and-downs.
b) True again, but remember that you are comparing apples of different colors because of the difference in social benefits.
On the enterprise side, a set of laws introducing tax breaks for startups producing innovation have been enacted - at last.
c) There are three issues here: one is to develop a business eco-system where entrepreneurs do have a support environment made up of experienced lawyers, VCs, accountants, mentors, etc. And can avoid making mistakes by learning from the experience of these people.
The second is to develop a different attitude towards failure: here (in the US) it is part of your training, in France it is largely a "business curse". There is also a need to develop a different attitude towards success, where being wealthy and famous in business creates a lot of jealousy.
Finally, and it is less true now, but when I joined a tiny startup back in the late 80's, many people asked me if it was because I could not get a job from a real/established company. And there was a sense that you were starting your business because you could not get a job anywhere else.
And yes, speeding up the process to create and manage a corporation will help, but it is not number one roadblock.
d) As I wrote in that rant: http://blog.softtechvc.com/2005/05/going_around_th.html, I agree that France needs to develop a bi-lingual approach, just because it is what is required to be competitive in business. But that does not imply the death of French as a language or culture.
Overall, starting and developing a successful startup in France is not as challenging and regulated as many imply. The question is what do you do two or three years down the road when you reach the size where labor troubles start kicking in.
Regarding America, whilst they may have a successful technology industry (albeit one that is being rapidly caught by the emerging economies) I hate their food, dislike their abomination of the English language, and can't find much trace of any culture.
Even W lauds the French, now that he's pushing for nuke plants here.
I was born&raised in England; spent 30 years there. I have now spent 12 years in the USA (Phoenix AZ) and love the country enough to become a citizen.
It's a country almost the same size Europe with almost 300 million people - all of whom are within shouting distance of their immigrant ancestors. Those people brought recipes into this country & then created a new variation (like Indian food in England).
I've had dim sung in San Francisco, Tex Mex in South Phoenix, Gumbo in Mobile, seafood all over New England, even real authentic fish&chips (with mushy peas & tartar sauce) in both South Florida and Southern California.
I've found Arizona Mexican, Tex Mex, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Mongolioan, Indian, English, Irish (that's English, but with Guiness in everything), French and many other cuisines (or variations) in my home town.
I even found a cheese shop in Key West that sells cheeses - Complete Wheels of Stilton Cheese.
I admit, it can be difficult to find real draught beer and I would love a decent leg of lamb occassionally. But one thing the USA does NOT lack is fine dining - and I didn't even mention many of the worlds greatest steak restautrants (my local favourite in Phoenix is Durants).
There is a glaring error in the essay. Lionel Jospin has never held the post of President. He was a Prime Minister and later an unsuccessful presidential candidate.
The opening statement used the paucity of French companies listed on the Nasdaq in comparison to their Israeli peers to make a point about the lack of French innovation.
That argument is simply flawed. While it may be true that the French today are not regarded as being at the forefront of technological innovation, the Nasdaq is hardly the applicable barometer of that situation.
America is undisputed the global technological leader, and the Nasdaq has the largest listing of technology companies in the world. But does that mean any tech company worth its salt must trade on the Nasdaq, or at least aspire to do so?
There are numerous large bourses around the world with plenty of capital to go around. Companies choose to list their stocks in places they can safely court investment. After Iraq war debacle, America is not exactly viewed as friendly place for French companies to raise capital. One needs to look no further than the US Congress, which decided to rename the French fries as Freedom fries just to spite the French.
For years, there has been mutual disdain of each others' cultures between the US and France. If Hollywood is any reflection of the American view of the world, then it is not difficult to see the reason. After all, the perennial bad guy almost always sports an accent that is unmistakably Russian, German, English, French, Arabic, etc. The hero who saves the world will invariably be Bruce Willis or Will Smith.
When the French had the temerity to openly disagree with Uncle Sam on the illegal invasion of Iraq, blatant French-bashing became a national American pastime. A quick look at some of the other comments on this essay will easily illustrate the point. And you wonder why few French companies few optimistic enough to court US investors.
Israel is a different situation altogether. Its economy receives generous US aid to help offset a large current account deficit. Also, half of its foreign debt is owed to the US. In essence, Israeli companies are subsidised in part by US taxpayers. In addition, America is viewed as Israel's staunchest defender, so the Nasdaq or NYSE would be seen as a good place to raise funds.
Until the ugly tide of nationalism in the guise of patriotism recedes in the US, the situation regarding French companies will unlikely change.
correctness and therefore have no problem being critical of the
French. The French have the most to say about everyone else in
the world and yet are the most overly sensitive and easily
offended people themselves. We in America have a word for
people like that. It is "adolescence" and is indicative of people
who lack maturity and possesses a certain childish nature. So,
who cares is the French get offended, since they always will. It
appears like you went to great lengths at the beginning of the
article to apologize in advance in case any French reader got
offended. That is absurd.
The reason why France is irrelevant in the technology sector is
because people in the US, India, and Asia, work harder and more
aggressively. They work harder in their education and work
harder in the workforce. To be successful in technology you
need to be aggressive and that is not something France is
known for.
In my opinion, the reason they invented the word "entrepreneur"
is because they needed a word to describe what was going on
outside their borders. There is a reason why France is
considered what is now called "Old Europe". This is because,
like many other Western Europe nations, they have lulled
themselves into believing that they are still the nations they were
in the 1700's, while the rest of the world is marching forward
without them.
"France regularly gets overlooked in favor of economic basket
cases-turned-tigers such as South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China,
Singapore and India." and France should be ashamed of itself as
it sits idly by. That's not possible, because the French lack the
humility gene. How can you make such bold comments about
South East ASIA being "economic basket cases" without
commenting on the fact that France's economy is less than
impressive.
Frances days of glory are long passed and the book has closed
on them. That is why there are 200,000 French living in the Bay
Area. The fact that California wished it were European doesn't
hurt either. Maybe it's time for the French to finally learn a 2nd
language (not counting German), and that should be Chinese.
Great, then don't post anonymously and be accountable for your opinions.
Incidently, you forgot to actually say why you don't provide your name.
You speak like we taught it to you; thanks for showing how
progressive and free you could be.
However I rarely met any american with an acceptable level of French or German to sustain a conversation with him/her; it was almost always myself (and colleagues) to speak english to enable a conversation ...
Jacques
PS: I'm not french ...
1) Local market.
The French local market is large enough for a small company to thrive. Not enough to become a powerhouse.
US companies can become powerhouse by selling 90% of their stuff locally. Israelians ones MUST sell 90%+ outside only to survive (I don't speak about the ones selling to the military of course).
Because of this French companies are missing the kick in the butt to go global, or at least European (which is MUCH toucher than, say, going from bing a CA company to a West-coast one to a US one). This definitely hinders their ability to thrive. But that does not mean great technologies aren't developped there.
2) Language: linked with 1, the language skills of my fellow frogs are poor. It's very hard to grow internationally when you are not good enough in English and have very little knowledge of other's culture.
ps: the last one also apply for many countries like US or China. But for both, local market and language are enough to grow big. Very Big.
criticize everyone else , and at the same time, also so easily
offended when other mention their litany of shortcomings.
Before you start throwing stones in the direction of the French, take a close look in the mirror. Read your own comment again and you would be surprised how much you could learn from yourself.
Besides regulatory burden and cost, you will need to service the US financial community in addition to the European one, which is your home market where you have to list to be taken serious in the US. Adds more cost.
Finally, as most of the trading will be on EuroNext listing in the US will dilute your home market cap, which is a problem if your marketcap is below $500mn.
(2) Israel does not have (like Canada) a very liquid market with a lot of companies, in comparison to the US. Moreover, research coverage is similarily limited and most investors for the Israeli market are in New York anyway.
That's all there is. Any banker in Europe could have explained that.
Yes different language adds to cost of doing business and there is some great French technology that you may learn about once you make the effort of going there and learning their language. It just not necissarily bothers to make it over to the US.
The stage they are missing out on is wildly uncontrolled and unbridled entrepreneurial hoodlum-ism such as infects - and is practiced by - "the big players in the finance and high tech industry" here in (Enron/Worldcom etc..)... America.
Anyone who really knows the French and has lived and loved with them has realised that despite their Frenchness - (after all they are human) their quality of life, and understanding of the role of quality in everything in life, is far ahead in the world...kinda like Italians in a way.
For this reason they refuse to let go of hard earned socially integrative gains in general public and private social life and hang on to a very sophisticated social culture.
They refuse to go the immature, unsatisfying American over-competitiive, over-indugent, over-materialistic route to attempted satisfaction with life...which fails, as American will one day find out.
Anyone who knws their standards of freedom and the rights to self-expression - as well as their ability to articulate their feelings and point of view knows that general conversation in France while not as witty as the British is very interesting and entertaining for its own sake...like most of France.
Like the Brits, they have real and reliable (BBC-like) news radio and TV and information systems and reliable sources unlike the right wing dominated supposedly American "free " media, where the bigest problem is that nothing is true or relatively normal.
If the statement that "you are what you eat" is in any way true...then here in America we are in serious danger.
HIgh tech developers they are not. They are busy with other things and less obsessive than we are about telling everyone else we are so great with no/lttle proof of why we are.
The media in France, especially television, started as state institutions and remain heavily controlled by the State.
You mention American corporate scandals.
The level of corruption in France since the 80?s has been staggering. Political parties, both right- and left-wing have funded their activities through a massive nationwide kick-back scheme run in conjunction with large French construction companies. Traditional cozy privilege for high office holders in the government and in state?controlled enterprises turned to unbridled corruption in the 90?s: check the number of people who have gone to jail at Total-Elf (the biggest French oil company) for running a slush fund used to buy political influence on the right and the left on a titanic scale. Chirac himself as mayor of Paris, and Prime Minister Jupe both ran influence peddling and illegal patronage schemes when they ran the Paris municipality.
France, long run by a pampered but competent and honest elite, has become a CORRUPT country in the last quarter century. Its business and political leaders cannot be trusted. If anything anywhere remotely similar had happened in the U.S., Elliot Spitzer would be filling penitentiaries with politicians and businessmen. Can you imagine if the CEO of EXXONMOBIL had PURCHASED the favors of Colin Powell when he was as Secretary of State? Unthinkable in this country. Watergate would be peanuts compared to that.
Finding France?s way of life charming is understandable. But America?s obsession with money, materialism and corporations will be much easier to tame than France?s deeply rooted problems.
About the plane... the parts were manufactured all over Europe and brought together for assembly without a hitch. Think about that in this context:
On Sunday, France will vote on accepting the European Union constitution, which has already been ratified by 7 nations and is likely to pass the other 17 if France votes yes.
The French might not worry the US today, but the EU should keep us up at night. Together, 25 EU nations will be a considerable innovation and market force in the world.
Not to mention foreign policy.
than to join in any sort of a union. France couldn't even stay in
NATO, since France couldn't run the organization. Now for once
the French government, or at leaast Chirac, wants to cooperate
in the EU - and the French citizens are about to vote it down
(according to most pollsters).
It probably doesn't make any difference. The EU at best has only
a limited lifetime if it does become a reality. There will be jsut
too many different objectives on every issue, and insufficient
reasons to compromise.
It seems even less likely that you can predict what acceptance would mean for Europe in the future.
The whole purpose of individual European countries surrendering sovreignty is to secure greater security and prosperity. Many in Europe believe their countries will have _less_ security if the constitution as written passes. Many others believe their countries will have less prosperity if the much touted "strengthened" Europe comes about. In response at least half of the countries voting on the issue are allowing only the elites to vote. Many, notably Germany and Spain, are not allowing their citizens to vote on the issue at all.
Under such circumstances, it does not at all follow that adopting the constitution will create a greater and stronger Europe. Quite the opposite, it may well be less stable, less efficient because of sharpened awareness of national fault lines.
What does seem apparent is that the new constitution would aggravate existing centrifugal political and economic forces within Europe. Those living in Europe can see what I mean by asking any average person on the street if they believe Turkey should be given full membership in Europe. Then look and what see what the political elites are trying to do with Turkey.
Northernguy
Next, HP, mentioned in the story, makes it PC's in France, not US. Airbus builds it's planes in France. The high compression diesel engines are all based on French patents. The bulk of the patents on the Arian rockets are French as well.
France has lost many high tech jobs, but to eastern Europe, not US.
Difference in attitude in US and Europe also play a difference in perception. PC's are an individual tool, easy to get started in the US due to our loan ranger attitudes. In Europe, networking got stated first. As indicated, the minitel started first in France and lost to the more prolific PC based internet. Cost is related to volume, the number of people in the US way outnumbers the French - pricing them out of the business. This is a lesson we will learn as China opens it's market up, outnumbering us greatly, pricing us out of the market. Will it be US comanies, Chineese, or other is irrelevent. The future markets will be determined by the desires of the Chineese residents, soon to be the largest market in the world for everything. Hopefully we fare better than the French have facing this overwhelming numbers game.
But I don't share your vision of China.
The US equivalent of China today is like taking all Americans (300 million) putting them on the US coasts while producing the GDP the US had 40 years ago, while adding A BILLION illiterate, poor Mexicans in the heart of America. I don't that creates a big market - I think it is a recipe for an uncontrollable social explosion. Just a thought.
He was a French aristocrat, his older brother accomplished and somewhat famous.
And it is he, Louis de Broglie, that we have to thank for much of what we call Quantum Mechanics, today.
de Broglie did the conceptual work that was to become the Schrodinger Equations. Schrodinger translated de Broglie's geometric and intuitive work into the grammar of equations that Physicists are so fond of today.
And what was that 'intuition'? That waves behave like particles in some circumstances. And that waves cancel themselves out through interference patterns to create 'particle' manifestations. And presto, we got the notions of quantum levels of energy of the atom.
So the next time you get so impressed with Einstein because he was Princeton's darling; try to remember de Broglie because his legacy was stolen from him, some of that because he was French.
And de Broglie was as French as French can be.
stolen. Every serious physics student know his name and
accomplishments. But as in almost every scientific field, each
contribution is part of the story and each scientist builds on the
works of previous scientists. So it is with de Broglie.
And I have never heard of any commentaries on de Broglie that
considered his nationality as a negative factor.
For the French idem. I am a Yank living in France for the last 25 years and have learned to take the best of both worlds and get on with my life end.
- Houston/Paris experiences
- by May 28, 2005 10:19 AM PDT
- This is true for me too: "I'm an unabashed Francophile. I love their food, adore their language and admire their culture."
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
Showing 1 of 2 pages (142 Comments)In fact, I have experience both with Houston-based company (lived/worked there for about 4 years) and French high-tech company located in Paris, which I visited during business trips from Moscow. Possibly, it would be interesting if I share a little bit my observations.
The company had a contract with Daimler Chrysler (France), and subcontracted us. Basically, I found that their approach to managing a project is quite different. Personally, I?m used to spiral models of development, which, in contrast to waterfall models, are more flexible and allow iterations in design/specifications, and documentation. During initial contacts, I quickly understood that the company follows strict waterfall model in a project with a scope to build distributed system (windows/web services, asynchronous messaging with SonicMQ, multiple entry forms, XML exchanges, database design etc). Frankly, I was unable to shift their point of view. Project was not very complex, but had many details, which were unclear upfront, and, I believe, could be figured out in principle until after initial stages of development only. One of the project requirements was to make and validate ALL specifications (even detailed specifications) before the development. In my view it meant to follow a risky way. As I said, in my contacts, I was unable to negotiate less risky (and typical option) of staged development. To be true, comparing to my experience in U.S., I expected more flexibility and more trust of how I should build the whole software development process.
Another difference that I found is the role of documentation. Initially, it striked me in a positive way that the internal business processes are documented to a degree higher that I would have expected. The quality and extend was high. However the whole process was formal, in opposite to very informal and staged process as I saw in Houston. The validation requirements (before development) was so high that reminded me old anecdote :
?If you died and wondering where you are - in paradise or in hell, then ask who is in charge of documents handling. If French man would be the answer, then you are in hell.?
Since it was my first and single experience with French
IT company I'am not inclined to make any suggestions, moreover I?m probably wrong on some points. But I agree with French proverb ?Le plus est l?ennemi du bien? (The best is the enemy of good things).
Stan Malevenny (http://i.1asphost.com/synaptex)