The majority of “patrons” of large and small French companies would far prefer the Gaullist candidate Nicolas Sarkozy to win the forthcoming presidential election than his Socialist rival Ségolène Royal.

Nothing unusual in that. Yet to warn, as some business leaders are doing, that a Royal victory would plunge the country back to the dark days of Socialist rule when President François Mitterrand came to power in 1981 is going too far. The head of one of France’s biggest blue-chip companies has even suggested the situation would be three times worse than President Mitterrand’s dismal first two years in power. Sure, Ms Royal has drawn up a long list of proposals to show her socialist credentials. And sure, some corporate chiefs are unhappy at her idea of taxing “indecent” oil company profits, regulating bank fees, chasing rich tax exiles in the Swiss Alps and pushing up dramatically the minimum wage.