Economics
Colbert Revived as Montebourg Pushes State Role in France Inc.
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French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, an unabashed admirer of Louis XIV’s mercantilist finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, says he has no intention of loosening his grip on France Inc.
Over his 17 months in the job, the 51-year-old Socialist has brought a whiff of Colbertism to the Finance Ministry’s corridors, seeking greater state control over French commercial interests. He courted controversy demanding the nationalization of a part of steelmaker ArcelorMittal; blocked the sale of the YouTube-like unit of phone company Orange SA to Yahoo! Inc. and started a flag-waving “Made in France” campaign.