We are proud, but lack the pride of belonging, to carry a tricolour banner like others carry a star-spangled banner. We often proudly claim France's superiority in many areas, to the point of sometimes appearing to give lessons, and at the same time regularly sink into self-criticism and self-flagellation, which sometimes fuels self-recession.

We call for national solidarity, but we dream of a decoupling between each of us and the nation: regularly questioned about the national situation and their personal situation, the French are convinced that they are doing better than the country. In opinion polls, as I have often observed, the perception of the average is not always the average of perceptions. Convinced of the country's difficulties, everyone wants to live their own life, to detach themselves from it, to decouple themselves, as we talk about geostrategic decoupling. But this is an illusion, because everything is linked, we are all interdependent and interdependent. At a time of great economic anxiety, the temptation to withdraw into protectionism is great, both economically and politically. So, globalisation or Europe, responsible for all our sufferings, would find their antidote in the recurrent "made in France".

Claiming an address rather than a brand identity reflects our difficulty in assuming our nationalism when this term causes discomfort and inevitably refers to certain extremist ideas, or our patriotism when the idea of homeland evokes other periods in our history. We find it difficult to assume our national identity. Our territorial attachment is often stronger at the regional level than at the national level, which explains the strong regional identities across our country. Regional identities are often stronger at the periphery of the hexagon, as if a centrifugal force had intensified the feeling of regional identity to compensate for the pressure exerted at its centre by the Jacobin State.

This argument of made in France, while interesting, is also a missed opportunity, with two letters that change everything: in and by.

France is more than an address.

Of course, we all want to buy local products and services, made in France, for social reasons, linked to the preservation of jobs, and environmental reasons linked to the reduction of the carbon footprint of transport for example. But this criterion alone is not enough, and it is not a very sustainable strategy when your domestic market weighs 1% of the world's population, and when everyone knows that the economic vitality, particularly of "our" large groups, is due to global markets. "Our" large groups when they innovate or conquer markets, "big capitalism" when they cut jobs. In economics, it's like sports: "we" have won, "they" have lost. However, it is indeed this team spirit that must be (re)created, the French team is not limited to France alone.

Facebook would not be Facebook if it had been limited to the US market, even the US market!

Moreover, this territorial criterion is important and interesting but not sufficient. In the trade-offs that we all make, in our compromises or trade-offs, all the attributes of the offer come into play. And these trade-offs are carried out in different ways depending on the product category, depending on the importance we attach to the purchase in question, depending on our habits, depending on our purchasing power of course, and depending on the extent of the available offer, i.e. the possible alternatives (try buying a smartphone made in France).

It is this constraint that explains the difficulty we have in resolving our Christmas tree syndrome, which on 25 December welcomes toys made in China at its feet, when we spend the whole year condemning relocation.

All this to say that the made in France brand is of course desirable, but it cannot be imposed or decreed, it must be earned. The French brand cannot be compulsory, it must simply be the best, the most desirable. This criterion will then provide an element of positive differentiation, but it will not replace quality, price positioning or the attractiveness of the brand. Several years ago, consumers were criticised for declaring in opinion polls that they were prepared to pay more for environmentally friendly products, without translating this into their purchasing actions on the shelves. Until the day when competitive and comparable service offers came along.

In this geological marketing, the environmental benefit or the made in France are additional layers that can/should bring a plus.

French products must first and foremost be the best, and of the best possible quality/price ratio. This requirement is the best service to give them rather than imagining creating a captive, "protected" domestic market.

Beyond these elements of arbitration, other dilemmas will arise. For example, should we prefer a Toyota made in Valenciennes to a Renault made in Eastern Europe? But how can we quantify the "made in France" of products with multiple components? While it is indeed quite easy to identify French fruit and vegetables, it is quite another matter for high-tech products. How to arbitrate when only the assembly is repatriated? Or conversely when the design is carried out in a design office on national territory and the manufacture elsewhere? And how can we encourage innovative SMEs to export and develop abroad if they move away from their home base? How can we promote made in France products in commercial and political arguments when at the same time we demand reciprocity and, better still, when we want to boost our exports to make up for a very problematic foreign trade deficit? We would then like to claim that France is made in France, and at the same time sell our Airbus (made in Europe) to the Americans, explaining that it is better than made in the US? And what about the more than 2 million French employees who work in "foreign" companies? Are they bad French? Are there then 'national' workers and employees who work for 'foreign' companies?

It should also be remembered that "made in France" products are not necessarily more environmentally friendly or manufactured by companies that are necessarily more social or ethical. It is neither the place of manufacture nor the nationality that automatically predetermines more virtuous behaviour, but the values of the company and all its employees (not just the managers).

Here again, this argument of made in France is attractive, it is politically correct, but this is a private matter, a matter of supply and demand. There is no doubt that a company will make use of it and therefore encourage it if it represents a significant purchasing criterion for its customers and if it allows better economic performance. Made in France should also be preferred by companies, which should not only see it as a marketing argument, but also as a source of pride.

Moreover, the study of relocation cases (Rossignol, Majencia, Le Coq Sportif, Smoby, Atol, Kindy, etc.) shows that it is first and foremost the company's interest (better control, greater flexibility, overall price advantage that is ultimately less important than expected, etc.) that has led to these movements, and then to use them as an argument, which is absolutely legitimate, when faced with consumer choice criteria. It is above all the competitiveness and attractiveness of French companies and products that must be restored.

As for the political decision-makers who are arguing this today, if they think they can influence the market, they should start applying it to themselves by avoiding a new 35-hour phenomenon where everyone had to apply it except the public hospital for example. The legislator can influence the market through its decrees, but also through its power as a principal. If consumers are asked to do so, then logic would dictate that national preference should be applied in the first place in public procurement, rather than systematically putting the lowest budgetary bidder as the first weighting criterion (far ahead of the others)! Public decision-makers, buy first! If there is one client who must have a macro and long-term reasoning in his purchasing behaviour, it is the public purchaser.

To promote our jobs and know-how, rather than "Made in France", I prefer the more global idea of "Made BY France" or if you like "France made", i.e. by French companies.

This could be manufacturing on national territory, or production from a legally French company, under the "French flag", or even "national" production carried out abroad. This is to evoke values, excellence, know-how and innovation, rather than just a geographical criterion. But also, above all, to be oriented in a logic of conquest, offensive rather than defensive. "France made", designed and manufactured by "the French brand", a brand you can be a fan of, and a "French company" to which you can be proud to belong, here and elsewhere.

If made in France refers to a geographical criterion, made BY France integrates and broadens it, to also evoke excellence, know-how, spirit, the French Touch, Tech, Fab, whatever you want ... in short, these soul values, these intangible values, which enhance brands and profit and loss accounts.

The "MIF Expo" (in November 2013) wanted to praise innovation, the attractiveness of the French brand for exports, and the "new" Industrial France presented on 12 September 2013 at the Élysée Palace through 34 plans for reconquest (by the way, where are they? Why do we never evaluate the announcements?) 34 plans are certainly interesting, but 34 plans do not make one. A showroom is not a strategic project. What unites these projects, these desires, is the claim to a know-how, it is a spirit of conquest, of re-conquest. Made BY France also means saying "France is back", not turning France in on its territory as if to naively protect it, but opening it to the world, making it present and desirable. The 5 million employees of French groups around the world or the French expatriates recruited from the four corners of the globe for their talents, creativity or the quality of their training are all standard-bearers of the French spirit, of this made BY France beyond our borders, as outposts of this France brand around the world.

Made BY France is here in France and around the world, through France's representations in the world. Beyond the single hexagonal address, wherever Made BY France is expressed, there is an additional piece of tricolour land, like so many economic embassies. A Made BY France like a banner, like an American flag on the moon, a Made BY France of affirmation, conquest, presence and influence. To launch a Made BY France of conquest and affirmation like Kennedy launched the Apollo programme in 1961.

A made BY France to see the world as a space and not as a threat.

A made BY France of conquest and not of withdrawal, of enthusiasm and not of concern.

For a France that is a flag and not a barricade.

A proud, pretentious, ambitious, enterprising, enthusiastic, rebellious made BY France.

Made BY France, for a France here and elsewhere, yesterday and always.

 

 

 

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First edition: December 2011 / edito #41 on atlantico

And my publication by Yale University in the framework of its research centre "Yale Center for the Study of Globalization": http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/france-deals-globalization-crisis-part-ii