Financial Scandal Reveals French Paradox on Capitalism

"…the SocGen drama encapsulates the contradictions of France's attitude to capitalism: on the one hand, there is widespread suspicion of the markets; on the other, world-class financial skills… In a 2006 poll, only 36% agreed that the free market was the best system available, compared with 71% of Americans and 66% of the British… This week, Mr Sarkozy once again declared: ‘We want a capitalism of entrepreneurs, not a capitalism of speculators.'"