Industrial Nationalism versus European Partnerships: An Analysis of State-led Franco-German Inter-firm Linkages

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of state intervention in French-German inter-firm linkages and discusses the implications of conflicting national interests for the furthering of single market integration. It demonstrates that despite initial success in launching large-scale cross-border alliances in strategic sectors, France and Germany have remained divided by their own industrial nationalism. It argues that their respective attitudes towards industrial policy are less contradictory than would appear at first sight, but that transcending industrial nationalism by Europeanising the notion of economic patriotism would be an essential pre-condition for a more efficient EU-wide industrial policy within a better integrated internal market.