Revolt in the boardrooms

French politicians discovered in 1995 that they could no longer go around dropping bombs at whim without a reaction from the rest of the world. Contrary to what President Jacques Chirac promised in his election campaign, they also finally admitted publicly that they could no longer continue financin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Banker (London) 1996-01, Vol.146 (839), p.19
Main Author: de Quillacq, Leslie
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Bank acquisitions & mergers
Boys
Capitalism
Economic policy
Equity stake
Privatization
Profits
Public opinion
Worms
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:French politicians discovered in 1995 that they could no longer go around dropping bombs at whim without a reaction from the rest of the world. Contrary to what President Jacques Chirac promised in his election campaign, they also finally admitted publicly that they could no longer continue financing the French exception to the economic rules of the rest of the world marketplace. The state could not continue to pay for the generous social security system nor subsidize bankrupt public companies without ruining the French economy. The old boy network that has governed the French state and board rooms for years had failed to prepare the populace for the news. French citizens instinctively understood that they would suffer, not the old boys. The turbulence began when it became public knowledge that Michel Pebereau, executive chairman of the Banque Nationale de Paris, had discreetly amassed a shareholding of at least 5% in the troubled Suez group. Pebereau proposed that BNP, the loss-making Suez group, and the troubled UAP insurance group merge.
ISSN:0005-5395