Macron’s Opening Bid with Europe

Despite an initial burst of rabid enthusiasm among EU supporters in response to the election of Emmanuel Macron, it is becoming increasingly clear to some that the new French President, bolstered by his party’s recent parliamentary triumph, will… well, act like a French President. Politico:

Having seen off the populist challenge to the European Union in France’s elections, the young centrist comes to his first EU summit with a list of demands: He will ask EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for three measures to bolster trade defenses and crowd out competition from China.

It will be Macron’s attempt to deliver on his campaign promise to defend citizens against the impact of globalization, while continuing to address some of the root causes of populist nationalism not only in France, but across Europe.

“The president led a campaign that was very engaged towards Europe by insisting on the theme of a Europe that protects,” said one French official. “But Europe can only be supported and understood if it brings a certain protection which is felt as such, which is visible and concrete, to our fellow citizens.”

Here’s Frits Bolkestein, a former European Commissioner, lamenting the reemergence of an old French priority: neutering liberalized EU takeover regulations, supposedly on the basis of “vital strategic interests.”

This Colbertist instinct — that French wealth should serve the French state — runs deep among its elite. But it is also catching on elsewhere. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni have voiced their support for Macron’s plans to introduce steps that would screen takeovers on “national security grounds.” By keeping a company’s shares outside the immediate grasp of any interested buyer, these countries could block or at least significantly slow down takeover processes and stand in the way of a truly open market.

Cross-border takeovers remain an important means of maintaining competitiveness among European companies, as well as the health of the EU’s free-market system. When stronger, better-managed business entities are allowed to acquire floundering, inefficient companies, corporate accountability remains robust. Capital, fresh ideas, and new management are allowed to circulate among the economies of Western Europe such that underperforming personnel are forced to answer for declining share prices.

Macron has a large mandate on paper to push through far-reaching reforms in France, but the relatively low turnout and the threat of strikes and protests from unions opposed to what he campaigned on appear to be pushing him towards protectionism. Whether these are merely gestures meant for domestic consumption or strong demands of the EU he is unwilling to back down from remains to be seen. The fact remains: the French will remain French, despite many good reasons for making a change.

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