Recovery plan: does it meet the needs of France in the medium term?

The 100 billion euro stimulus plan was presented this morning by Prime Minister Jean Castex but it was the work of Bercy and Bruno Le Maire who imprinted his philosophy on it. 

This philosophy is that of a very temperate liberalism.

Why temperate?

The Minister of the Economy likes to say that the world is at the end of a 25-year cycle where the pure and hard rules of the market absolutely had to prevail and where consequently the role of the State in the economy had to be reduced - well, in the French case, we never really saw the state withdraw.

But today, this liberal cycle is coming to an end everywhere, the pendulum is clearly on the side of the State, we see it in Europe but also in the United States and of course in China. 

And therefore in France where the State will play a central role in this recovery plan. 

The State and I would say even more precisely Bercy.

Bruno Le Maire also says: "the 100 billion, they are here".

He's the one who will write the checks and no one else.

The process will be hyper-centralized.

It is the Colbertist state in all its splendor.

So where is liberalism in there, you will tell me?

It is in the fact that the main part of the effort of this plan relates to the support of the offer, the modernization of the production tools and the reduction of the fiscal pressure weighing on the companies.

This is the course that Emmanuel Macron has set himself since the start of the five-year term, he does not change it, the Covid crisis even strengthens him in this direction.

So much for the liberal component.

But I repeat, it is a very moderate liberalism.

Example: the State will mobilize billions of euros to support sectors that the administration considers "promising" such as batteries, hydrogen, quantum computers, small nuclear reactors etc.

The state wants to be a strategist.

But is it in a good position to select the sectors of the future in a relevant way?

After all, it's not obvious. 

We have been able to do this in the past with nuclear, space, high speed ... 

It's true, but let's not forget that we were in a context of a rapidly growing economy, the glorious thirties, and much less open than today.

This is not a reason to give up.

With this 100 billion plan, the state wants to prevent France from winning in a number of key industries.

He also wants to relocate certain critical industries, for example in drugs, to reduce our dependence on China and India.

It is therefore very ambitious.

And in this much more competitive world than in the 1970s, we have no room for mistakes.