The French are good at innovation, but singularly bad at turning their discoveries into lucre. Too often, bright ideas remain locked in government laboratories or small companies, while French multinationals struggle to sustain a technology edge in globalising markets.

The problem is so widely acknowledged that three years ago, the government launched a €1.5bn ($2.1bn) initiative to address it. “We looked at what was happening in other countries, and agreed there was room for improvement,” says a senior finance ministry executive.