France can often resemble a loose federation of two very different nations. One is inhabited by state employees hostile to the free market and globalisation. The second houses dynamic, multinational companies of world renown. Each is exasperated by the other's antics.
If the giant businesses that make up France's CAC 40 stock market index were ever to give up on this fragile union and secede, Henri de Castries would be a strong candidate to be their first head of state. The boyish 53-year-old is one of France's most respected managers, having already notched up nearly eight years as chief executive of Axa, the acquisitive Paris-based group that is among the world's biggest insurers. His stature is such that last year there had been talk that he had been offered - and had turned down - the job of French finance minister.
