The Phantom of Palais Brongniart: “Economic Patriotism” and the Paris Stock Exchange

French governments are famous for promoting national champions, notably by preventing foreign takeovers, but in 2005–2006, the Villepin administration allowed the New York Stock Exchange to take control of Euronext, a French-led pan-European company that includes the Paris Bourse. By mapping the public discourse surrounding this striking case of non-intervention, we explain why opponents of the transatlantic merger failed in their appeals to “economic patriotism.” Discursive strategies designed to justify discrimination against territorially defined outsiders ran into several hurdles, including weak patriotic sentiments for the company concerned; a lack of patriotic alternatives to the proposed merger; and the questionable patriotic credentials of those demanding intervention. Our findings advance research on the demand side of “economic patriotism,” including its discursive dimension. Beyond that, they inform research on business–government relations, and on the political implications of corporate ownership structures.Französische Regierungen sind eigentlich dafür bekannt, dass sie einheimische Unternehmen vor Auslandsübernahmen schützen. Im Jahr 2005–2006 gestattete Villepins Regierung jedoch der New York Stock Exchange die Übernahme von Euronext, einer paneuropäischen Gesellschaft unter französischer Leitung, zu der auch die Pariser Börse gehört. Der öffentliche Diskurs zu diesem bedeutenden Fall von Nichtintervention gibt Aufschluss darüber, warum die Gegner der transatlantischen Fusion mit ihren Forderungen nach Wirtschaftspatriotismus scheiterten. Diskursiven Strategien zur Rechtfertigung von Diskriminierung gegen territorial definierte Außenseiter standen mehrere Hindernisse im Weg, etwa unzureichend ausgeprägte patriotische Gefühle für den Übernahmekandidaten, der Mangel patriotischer Alternativen zu einer transatlantischen Fusion und die mangelnde patriotische Glaubwürdigkeit derer, die eine staatliche Einmischung forderten. Der vorliegende Aufsatz ergänzt mit seinem diskursiven Schwerpunkt die aktuelle Forschung zu Wirtschaftspatriotismus. Außerdem trägt er zur Forschung über die Beziehungen zwischen Staat und Unternehmen und über die politischen Auswirkungen von Veränderungen in der Struktur von Unternehmenseigentum bei.1 Introduction 2 The surprising absence of territorially based discrimination 3 Demand for and opposition to government intervention 4 The discursive limitations of “economic patriotism” 5 Conclusion Sources (Interviews, References

The Phantom of Palais Brongniart: Economic Patriotism and the Paris Stock Exchange

France is famous for promoting national champions, notably by preventing foreign takeovers, but in 2005–2006, the French government allowed the New York Stock Exchange to take control of Euronext, a French-led pan-European company that includes the Paris Bourse. By mapping the public discourse surrounding this striking case of non-intervention, we explain why opponents of the transatlantic merger failed in their appeals to ‘economic patriotism’. Discursive strategies designed to justify discrimination against territorially defined outsiders ran into several hurdles, including weak patriotic sentiments for the company concerned; a lack of patriotic alternatives to the proposed merger; and the questionable patriotic credentials of those demanding intervention. Our findings advance research on demand side of ‘economic patriotism’, including its discursive dimension. Beyond that, they inform research on business–government relations, and on the political implications of corporate ownership structures

Market Information as a Public Good. The Political Economy of the Revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID)

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