Macron’s Industrial Policy: More of the Same?

European Straits #64

Dear all,

Emmanuel Macron’s election last year promised to be a boon for the French entrepreneurial ecosystem. Here was a progressive, forward-looking president whose political trademark was fighting off rent-seeking and who counted many entrepreneurs among his personal friends.

What’s more, the overall context seemed to favor France as the leading European startup hub. Britain is on its way out. Germany decidedly lacks a knack for shaking up the status quo. And while the Nordic and Baltic countries perform well on paper, their peripheral position makes it hard for them to lead the rest of the continent in a more entrepreneurial direction.

Almost one year later, however, it’s time to temper the initial optimism. Whereas the entrepreneurial ecosystem seems to have taken on a real life of its own, the signals coming from the French government mostly suggest continuity. Many policies undertaken by the Macron administration look very much like the ones implemented by its predecessors—from re…