,,Ignorance concerning German interests"
BERLIN/PARIS Elements of the French elite protest against the government's policies concerning Germany. This is caused by Berlin's overt attempts to strengthen its economic hegemony in Europe by attacking the industrial policy of Paris. Since its defeat by Nazi Germany, a strong and independent economy is considered prerequisite for the successful defense against renewed German encroachments and for Paris' strong position in international policies. In view of increasing greed vis-à-vis French armaments corporations, the possible candidate for president, Nicolas Sarkozy, looks for an ally against Berlin's embraces within the framework of ,,German-French friendship."
The actual conflicts are the result of the failure of French policy toward Germany after World War II. Paris blamed the defeat and ensuing occupation by the German military in 1940 on the weakness of French industry in the 1930s which had preceded the military debacle. For that reason it was agreed to combine existing resources of important industrial and supply branches. As a result enterprises were organized as state monopolies of electricity and gas energy supplies, the railroads, the post office and telecommunication, accompanied by banking which was controlled by the government. Furthermore, French administrations attempted to force a concentration of their military industry. French foreign policy pursued since 1945, and ending in a fiasco in 1989, could not prevent Germany's step by step recapture of power. Particularly in the area of industrial policies, Germany has been steadily increasing its power since the beginning of the 1990s. At the moment Paris attempts to defend national control over several industrial corporations against Berlin's further ambitions.
Defense: ...
The Federal Government, using open threats, supports the efforts of the Siemens corporation to separate and take over additional profitable units divested by French industrial giant Alstom, after the previously successful take-over of the industrial turbine business. While French President Chirac relies on negotiations with Chancellor Schroeder, the Minister of Industry, Devedjian, and the new Minister of Economy and Finance, Sarkozy, oppose Alstom's ,,break-up"and attempt to block the additional German power grab. In discussions with the European Commission, they succeeded in achieving a plan for Alstom's restructuring which, at least temporarily, will protect the corporation from the grasp by superior rivals like the German Siemens AG.
... ,,Extremely nationalistic"
In spite of the EU stipulation to search for a business partner, Alstom categorically ruled out an alliance with the German corporation and brought into play, as a possible partner for the coveted energy division, the Swiss ABB-Corporation, a tough Siemens competitor. When French banks provided additional finances and it became obvious that Alstom was able to manage the planned restructuring on its own, the German side became outraged. Siemens gave notice of a complaint before the EU court and the federation of German Industries demanded that the European commission should prevent the government's influence through the industrial policy of Economic Minister Sarkozy. The chairman of the German labor union federation finally declared that Chancellor Schroeder should engage himself more intensely in the ,,defense of German economic interests."
The German press reported that the Federal Government was ,,very angry"with the ,,ignorance of the French government vis-à-vis German interests."Bernd Pfaffenbach, chief economist of the chancellery declared that the French corporation's refusal of access to Siemens is ,,unacceptable."Chancellor Schroeder made this topic his personal business and attacked Sarkozy personally. Schroeder complained that the latter's position was ,,extremely nationalistic"and that this would strain German-French cooperation. However, he did not want to implicate the whole government or even Chirac with his criticism: The German-French cooperation is good except for policies concerning corporations. As a result, Sarkozy who is considered a future candidate for president of the middle class Union for a Popular Movement party (UMP) and potential successor to Chirac, opposed the current direction of French foreign policy, the core of which is the special relationship with Berlin. Sarkozy wants to check Berlin's aggressive pursuit of power, under the cloak of ,,German-French friendship", with political and economical cooperation of the six largest EU states (France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Poland).
Berlin's Wishes
The increasing worry by elements of the French Elite is especially well understood against the background of military policy. For some time, Berlin has not only stressed German nuclear plans in which cooperation with France plays an emphasized role - German political advisors are peddling that in ,,politically responsible circles"in Paris a desire is ,,more or less officially"expressed to enter into a ,,nuclear debate"with Germany. 1)Also, a further German attack against the influence of Paris on its armaments companies increasingly takes on more concrete forms. In future years, the French state should withdraw from the capital of the military electronics specialist Thales who, with an investment of about 30%, still plays a considerable role. A connection with the air and space corporation EADS is in the discussion stage. The German government demands that within EADS the strong influence of the French state should be completely given up through privatization. In addition, Berlin ,,desires"that France privatize the state-owned ship yards. This would be a prerequisite for future cooperation with German ship yards in an ,,EADS of the oceans"which, without suppressing the French ship yards, would dominate because of far more back orders. Berlin, very openly claims for itself hegemony of ship building: It is said that he new German Shipyard-Holding now can ,,look to European solutions and claim a leading role".
1) See also Bright Abyss
Sources:
Déclaration sur Alstom; europa.eu.int
Schroeder pokert um Alstom; Financial Times Deutschland 19.05.2004
Industrie-Patrioten. Franzosen blockieren Siemens-Expansion; Spiegel online 19.05.2004
Alstom lehnt weiterhin jede Zusammenarbeit mit Siemens ab; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 27.05.2004
Franzoesische Wirtschaft: Patriotische Manager; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 27.05.2004
Pfaffenbach: Nein von Alstom zu Siemens-Einstieg inakzeptabel; Reuters 28.05.2004
DGB-Chef Sommer geisselt Frankreich; Spiegel online 01.06.2004
Kanzler nennt Sarkozy ,,extrem nationalistisch"; Financial Times Deutschland 07.06.2004
BDI kritisiert Industriepolitik in Frankreich; Berliner Zeitung 10.06.2004
A la française: Erfolge und Niederlagen der franzoesischen Industriepolitik. Die deutsche Besatzung markiert den Beginn; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 18.06.2004
Sarkozy stellt Achse Berlin-Paris in Frage; Financial Times Deutschland 23.06.2004
