Revealed: The Near Complete Corporate Capture of the French State
In France, consultancy firms have been paid billions of euros to advise governments on policies from the coronavirus vaccine, to the climate change, and roll-out to digital transformation, according to a new report released by the French Senate.
The revelations contained in this report are extraordinary, and expose the inner workings of the highest echelons of the French state, and what can only be described as the near-complete corporate capture of the bureaucracy. The findings of the report have since been adopted unanimously by committee members on March 16, and will be translated into a legislative proposal, and a trans-partisan bill has already been announced. What has been revealed is breathtaking, and opens the door to what could be one of the most consequential scandals in modern European politics. This article will not only examine the corporate takeover of whole government departments, but also look at the risk-benefit analysis of government over the use of consultancy services and outline the danger which lies with such Public Private Partnerships. It will also provide concrete evidence of consultancy firms’ deep and problematic ties with the Executive Branch of the French Government. It is important to examine the powerful consultancy firms which underpin a much larger transnational network. This raises a number of important questions.