French Poop-on!

[marshmellow]

Who benefits from the French bashing?

If you are an energy company ready to spend a couple hundred million on a new power plant, are you going to work with a French supplier, a German supplier, or a US supplier. Even if the US supplier's prices are higher, your shareholders will accept the fact you didn't deal with the French. This is what French bashing is really about. Positioning the French product suppliers as unnacceptable to US projects.

When the energy crisis in 2000 cavitated and there was no demand for new power generation projects, a real level of anxiety arose at US suppliers. One way to ease the anxiety was to eliminate foreign suppliers by way of orchestrated smear campaign.

It may be working, ALSTOM is in dire financial shape. Vivendi is selling assets to stay afloat. Shlumberger is selling divisions.