Energy Policy and the French Model of Industrial Development in the Period 1945-2005: Prospects for a European Energy Policy

In the current historical phase, the European Union countries are faced with the opportunity to launch a new cycle of European economic development to support European competitiveness in a context of globalization and increasing uncertainty. Energy lies at the heart of this process. As a strategic sector for the competitiveness of each economic system, energy can play, in a broader perspective, a driving force for the start of a European industrial policy. The experience of France in this context represents an extremely important landmark. Indeed, France has a great competitive advantage over its European partners and the original economic development model designed during the XX Century, considered the most innovative of modern capitalism, has allowed this country to be at the forefront in sectors, such as energy, that are strategic for the future of humanity. In this context, the article intends to focus on the opportunities that the current historical phase offers to France to play a leading role in defining a European industrial policy in the energy field, emphasizing at the same time that new conditions imposed by the transformations of the XXI Century, namely the processes of globalization and European integration, impose on France the renovation of its historical industrial development model according to a European perspective.