French Privatizations and International Capital Markets

The 1993-1994 privatizations of French public companies have been conducted in an atmosphere of innovation among French lawmakers and politicians. The sale of French industries under French Privatization Law No. 86-912 of August 6, 1986 (as modified by Law No. 93-923 of July 19, 1993, the Privatization Law )\u27 with the use of novel financing methods has dynamized French capital markets. The Privatization Law and recent developments in French stock exchange regulations have permitted France to use privatization as a legal laboratory for testing share placement and distribution techniques developed both in France and abroad. Implementation of the Privatization Law marks a convergence of French and American marketing practices in addition to reflecting lessons learned from privatizations conducted in other countries