Is “economic patriotism” – the expression coined by Dominique de Villepin, France’s prime minister, and epitomised by the proposed merger of Gaz de France and Suez – a sign of hard-headed pragmatism gaining ground in Europe? Or is it an example of French schizophrenia towards globalisation, if not the European Union?

The idea of creating giants “in a world where fossil energy is increasingly rare, and where only size counts” – to quote Thierry Breton, economy and finance minister – makes sense. But if the primary logic is size and pure economic rationality in a global market, the planned offer by Italy’s Enel for Suez made sense too – as does, in all honesty, Mittal’s bid to absorb Arcelor, the steelmaker. The introduction of patriotic criteria confuses the debate. Could French giants be good for Europe, but European giants bad for France? That is a hard motto to sell.