Days after investing heavily in an ailing survivor of 20th-century manufacturing, France’s socialist government is to pump taxpayers’ money into a classic symbol of 19th-century industry – mining, reports The Financial Times.
In a surprise move, Arnaud Montebourg, the outspoken industry minister, said on Friday the state would invest up to €400m to create a state-owned mining company to explore for resources around the world, from rare earths to gold.
“Colbertism is coming back and that is good,” he said, referring to Jean-Baptiste Colbert, 17th-century finance minister under “Sun King” Louis XIV and the father of French dirigisme.
Since the turn of the year, President François Hollande has been at pains to stress the government’s pro-business credentials, making a marked shift to a supply-side policy of reforms to cut labour costs for employers, public spending and taxes in a bid to boost employment.
But Mr Montebourg has continued to champion the merits of state intervention in industry, underlined earlier this week when the government agreed to invest €800m to acquire a 14 per cent stake in PSA Peugeot Citroën, the lossmaking carmaker, alongside the Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng.
Read more of this report from The Financial Times.