Pursuits
Hollande Strives to Overcome French Technology Death Valley
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In 1973, Frenchman Francois Gernelle built the world’s first micro-computer. In the decades after, France looked on as International Business Machines Corp. and Apple Inc. spawned a multi-trillion dollar industry around it.
French business history is strewn with such examples of missed opportunities. From the Internet-precursor Minitel to Francois Mizzi’s touchscreen patents in the 1980s, France has repeatedly failed to turn ideas and research into money-making global products, leaving others to ride away with the prize.