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The phantom of Palais Brongniart: economic patriotism and the Paris Stock Exchange

2012; Routledge; Volume: 19; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13501763.2011.640788

1466-4429

Helen Callaghan, Paul Lagneau‐Ymonet,

Global Financial Crisis and Policies

Abstract 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. Keywords: DemutualizationdiscourseEuronextFranceNYSEownership structure ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This article is part of research project subsidized by joint-grant from Egide and the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (Hubert Curien Partnership, PROCOPE-DAAD, 21857 NF). Notes NYSE-Euronext press release, July 15, 2010 Décret n° 2005-1739, December 30, 2005. After strong opposition from the European Commission, the version of the decree that was finally implemented applies only to defence-related industries and to gambling. Challenges, 20 December 2006. Financial News, 4 July 2006. The Independent, 8 June 2006. Agence France-Press (AFP), 19 June 2006. AFP, 20 December 2006. Question posed to Jean-Pierre Jouyet during a talk at Institut Droît Dauphine (IDD) in Paris, 21 October 2009. La Chaîne Info (LCI), 9 June 2006. Entreprise et Marché, 5 July 2006. Business Week, 11 June 2001. In January 2007, Jacques Hamon, Bertrand Jacquillat and Christian Saint-Etienne released a report on Global Stock Exchange Consolidation to the prime minister, which portrayed stock exchange consolidation as inevitable and supported the tie-up between Euronext and NYSE. Reuters, 9 November 2006. Bloomberg News, 11 October 2006. The Wall Street Journal Europe, 6 October 2006. Reuters, 9 November 2006. Les Echos, 18 December 2006. AFP, 20 December 2006. Boursorama, 7 July 2006. Valeurs actuelles, 9 June 2006. Figaro, 6 October 2006. AFP, 19 December 2006. This line of argument was also promoted by Image 7, the influential French lobbying consultancy hired by Deutsche Börse. See N. Raulot Citation(2007). Le Point, 17 January 2007. Bloomberg, 6 July 2006. L'Echo, 27 June 2006. Futures Magazine, 1 September 2006. French intermediaries obtained seven Euronext shares, valued at 24 euros each, for every share of the previous operator of the Paris Stock Exchange. The deal was highly attractive because its shares were poorly valued, at historical cost. La Tribune, 13 November 2006. Bloomberg TV: Forum, 4 July 2006. Boursorama, 7 July 2006. Le Figaro, 21 November 2006. Business FM, Good Morning News, 21 November 2006.