Or it constantly condemned the loan interest base of a debt economy

A recent international survey shows that the France is the only industrialized country where the market economy is not considered legitimate: a majority of respondents to view capitalism as an economic system ineffective, unfair and responsible "havoc" of globalization. At the same time, a large part of the interviewed French equates it to "ultraliberalism". How to explain this profound attitude, which is virtually all political parties and within civil society

The opinion of French citizens on economics and finance was strongly impregnated by the influence of the Catholic Church. Or it constantly condemned the loan interest, base of a debt economy. As soon as the Council of Nicaea (325), the fathers of the Church, based on the doctrines of Aristotle, assert that the loan, "an act of pure charity", must be free. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the production of goods is only intended to ensure the survival and produce only earn more is a sin. Similarly, any Exchange on a commercial basis is sterile, as well as the Greek philosophers claimed it. Indeed, in the middle ages, the Church had a tendency to cover in the same sentence the merchant and the shark (the "steal time", which belongs to God). The mainly agricultural work is therefore the only source of all wealth.

This philosophy anticommerciale and antifinancière, typically French, therefore relies on Aristotle, taken over by the Catholic Church and the Capetian monarchy. In contrast, England, following the reform (introduced by Henry VIII), place in London at the center of its economy, in relying primarily on trade with the rest of the world, and then click financial flows.

The French Revolution and the various republics will not alter the anti-liberal tradition adopted by the monarchy. More recently, French officials argue, without being contradicted, "the stock market, I have nothing to Polish" (Edith Cresson) or "the capitalists are enriched in sleeping" (Francois Mitterrand), relaying the famous Gaullist sentence: "the policy was not to the Recycle Bin."

Yet, several attempts have well conducted to disseminate economic liberalism in France. These are the physiocrats, led by Mirabeau, Quesnay and Turgot, who tried to acclimatize economic liberalism in France. Fighting the "mercantilist" attached to accumulate metals (gold, silver) and the wealth of mainly monetary origin, resulting in large part of exports of goods, the physiocrats consider that the State should not intervene in the economy (in contrast to what think "colbertistes"), and that it is developing production, therefore growth, that an economy will grow. However, they stop at Midway, insofar as they favour agriculture industry (they praise the natural economy and wealth provided by the Earth), and are hostile to any form of financial system.

It is nevertheless Turgot, Minister of finance between 1774 and 1776, as some economic liberalization will be implemented in France: on the one hand, policy of free trade abroad and, on the other hand, freedom of trade, labour and the prices in the country (Liberation of trade in grain and meat, deletion of the "corporations" of artisans, considered as Malthusian). Unfortunately, the revolution and first Empire largely restore the stranglehold of the State on the economy and discourage individual initiative.

Another contribution to liberal thought will be the work of Jean-Baptiste Say (1767-1832), who is to be the "law of opportunities": the products are exchanged against other products and supply creates its own demand, by increasing the revenue available for consumption. It is recognized, before time, economic thought that Ronald Reagan will implement and which will cause a period of exceptional growth for the US economy. The second attempt of implementation of economic liberalism is to the credit of the second Empire: Napoleon III strives to promote the development of the banking system in France, intended to finance economic expansion (railways, in particular); parallel environment legal (labour law) is stabilized and revived international trade through the establishment of free trade. The fall of the second Empire will hamper these initiatives and the end of the first world war will see the return of State interventionism and the temptation of self-sustaining development.

Thus, the various regimes has known the France preferred state interventionism to both discouraged private initiative development of trade and financial institutions. The importance of agriculture in the French economy also influenced the economic thought (cf. "The physiocrats and their"deification of the Earth"") in the meaning of conservatism. In addition, the France suffered two financial crises which have left many traces in the collective subconscious of the nation. It's first Bankruptcy Law (1720), who threw a discredit, both on trading (assimilated to pure speculation, given the final liquidation of the company of the West Indies created by Law and the ruin of the shareholders which resulted) and the paper currency issued in consideration for the shares of the company mentioned above.

The another disaster, somewhat similar in its conduct, is linked to the revolutionary period: it is the bankruptcy of the "Avocats", issued by the Government of the 1st Republic, to finance, among other things, the war effort and resulting again in a financial disaster: the assignat dévalorisèrent quickly and their owners were ruined.

In this historical context, understand that economic liberalism is seen by French public opinion as an enemy. National Education also helps to strengthen this feeling taking against this thought: in the programs of colleges and secondary schools, the teaching of Economics is often reduced to the minimum portion, and Marxist or Keynesian approaches continue to be preferred in education provided in schools,. If we add to this that economic liberalism is almost not represented in the programmes of political parties, including the UMP (or, at least, the voice of those who defend is little heard), we explained much better this "congenital" distrust of the French with this thought. With, as a result, rather disappointing economic performance for the country.