The scene shifts from the Salon d’Agriculture to Airbus - from pedigree pigs to pigs that fly - a wishful dream that Europe could sustain the development and manufacture of a major industrial project. Only a few months ago all the great and the good of Europe were on the tarmac at Toulouse to see the launch of the mega-plane, the A380. That particular day I was having a picnic with my family beside a local stream and long-abandonned 18th century mill, when this enormous beast came flying low over us, turning with the slow majesty of some massive sea mammal. Leaning my head against the mossy 18th century industrial ruin, I was impressed at man’s fathomless ingenuity, his unceasing quest for this and that and all the accompanying clichés. Today those same ingenious men are out on the street, demonstrating their despair while yesterday’s great and good bury their heads in the sand and it is tomorrow’s hopeful leaders, the candidates in this presidential campaign, who are flocking to Toulouse, each seeking to show that he or she is better equiped than their rivals to deal with the death-throes of European industry.

Jean-Marie Le Pen is quite clear: it is not the state’s responsablity to bail out Airbus. “Ah!”, cries the eager reporter, scoop at the ready, “So (heartlessly) you’d abandon Airbus….” Not at all, cut in Le Pen, I’d work hard to find private companies who want to invest or buy - the old admiration for Thatcher has not died. François Bayrou has the same line, less agressively stated. I wonder whether they will be quite so keen if (when) a wealthy industrialist from India or China says he is willing to buy. The blatantly racist comments from all major politicians when Lakshmi Mittal first announced he wanted to buy Arcelor are still echoing. As president of a Region, Ségolène Royal wants to involve the Regions, let them invest in Airbus. All her fellow-socialist regional presidents have said that’s just what they want too. Unfortunately their combined wealth seems to be about a tenth of the money required, though I am fully prepared to believe that’s a grossly unfair figure thrown up by the opposition. But nevertheless I’m not quite sure why I should have to pay even higher local tax to support an aeroplane that most other French people won’t have to pay for. And anyway, should we be supporting air travel? (and will I be asked?) - although of course A380 carries more people per load (assuming it flies full), so I suppose it pollutes proportionately less. Nicolas Sarkozy for his part immediately brought his Alstom trophy out of the cupboard. In 2004 he attracted great criticism (including from me in Prospect) for shoring up the ailing French engineering company with public money, justifying it by saying that “uniquely French engineering knowledge must not be allowed to fall into the hands of foreigners” (meaning in that context the Germans). Sarkozy fought and won that battle with Brussels and it is true that today, thanks to public money, Alstom is back on its feet. Today Sarkozy is busy reminding us all of his vision and wisdom as he now joins with Germany to find a way to stop Airbus (or part of it) falling into the hands of other, perhaps less savoury foreigners. But certainly the Airbus experience is showing us that Sarkozy is not a free-market man. When the going is good he will let his mates (like Arnaud Lagardère, principal private French shareholder in Airbus) ape American business, but when there’s a problem he’ll fall back on vote-catching dirigisme. However, more to the point, as Elie Cohen of Telos points out, both Royal and Sarkozy speak as though Airbus were a wholly nationalised French concern and the German partner does not exist

The press says there are some 4,300 jobs at risk in France (although presumably only if no one, Indian or otherwise, buys part of the company). Worth noting perhaps last year’s decision by the French car manufacturer Peugeot to close its plant in Britain, with the direct loss of 2,300 jobs and a further 5,000 jobs amongst ancillary suppliers. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t remember a single French voice lifted in sympathetic protest at the time. 50 years of European union may have done wonders preventing wars, but it hasn’t done much for neighbourly solidarity.

For information in this confused scene: Airbus is managed (owned?) by EADS, the troubled Franco/German company. Lagardère (French) and Daimler-Chrysler (German) are the two private shareholders, each with a vote, in EADS, and therefore presumably a say in the running of Airbus. The French and German governments are investors in EADS but have no vote. Louis Gallois is the new boss of Airbus, he is also the French president of EADS, a position he shares with the German Thomas Enders. As far as I can see there is no German represented at the top of Airbus.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 at 8:43 am and is filed under Political, The real issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.