Paradoxically, the success of the post-war boom in France led top economic and political players to rest on their laurels and come to a standstill, which analysts at the time condemned as a "blocked society". Conservatism settled in at institutions, among politicians and among the social partners, leading to fierce protection of acquired situations.

The government wanted to preserve a leadership role in economic conduct, so it put in charge the elite who were trained in the same schools and came out of the same molds. The result is that when it comes to inventing new models and facing new situations, barriers rise up, clans take shape, the interests of leaders in power converge and evolution is slowed.

No sector has truly been spared, not even those in the forefront. And newcomers often must blast any resistance, as in telecommunications, even if it means causing useless chaos. Tourism is no better off. When productive investment needs boosting to launch a new hotel supply, financiers turn towards the Public Investment Bank (BPI) to see if it - the lastborn of the Caisse des Dépôts (French sovereign fund) - will give the go-ahead. Without an OK from "Granny"* and its approval committees who oversee it all, there is no chance of moving forward. Bankers are becoming as shy as public servants and forgetting that their first job is to finance development by loaning their money according to risk analysis. Institutional investors increasingly deserve their French nickname of "zinzins", or crazies, who lose their heads and priorities rather than being the spearheads of economic dynamics.

Today, we loudly celebrate and praise the Qataris or Saudis, Chinese or Singaporeans, Americans or Europeans for their investments in our treasures and patrimony… But if these foreign investors find an interest in it and a return on capital investment, then why have French investors ignored these opportunities? The strength of France's export and the growth of its presence abroad must not overshadow the importance of investing domestically as well, and under conditions at least as favorable as those accorded to foreign investors.

France's vocation is to welcome growing numbers of visitors, in order to gain a few, welcome, points of growth, and yet investment freezes continue to multiply. The French Railway and its stations are leagues away from completing the revolution needed to make its "users" feel more like clients. The quality of their reception, the price policy, the increased frequencies all deserve to be re-examined in order to reach even more regional clientele, those who delight France's European rivals. In the same way, the frequency of low-cost airline flights are controlled by the Paris Airport Authority, which wants to keep its big clients – the regular airlines – happy. And yet it is impossible to ignore the considerable damage done to the destination France when its national airline goes on strike.

Chambers of Commerce and Industry also have an important role to play to provide the country with modern infrastructures, whether these are new terminals, congress centers, quays for cruise ships… Emanations from companies and the vital forces of the territorial economy, CCIs spend more in operating costs than investment policies. The comfort of consular assemblies must not make us forget their essential mission.

There are many examples where individual interests take precedence over the collective and national interest, as in highway concessions and the considerable profits they make at the expense of motorists. The new Millennium generation has not yet taken control over the authorities in order to release a society that has been at a standstill for thirty years. Driven by results rather than the preservation of legacies, this generation could accelerate our evolution towards a New Economy. We are still in an era where official reports, general meetings, white papers pre-occupy the elite authorities, butthe time has come for putting things into practice, experimenting and liberating the vital forces.

* The French nickname for the national sovereign fund is Mémère (Granny)

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