Over the past 12 months, the French M&A market has epitomised the challenges facing corporate Europe. Having been at the forefront of continental consolidation for the past three years, French bankers look back on 2001 as a year of retrenchment, fear and hawkish regulation. When the final deal figures are collected, they are likely to show a slump in volumes of over 50%.

This decline should be placed firmly in context. The $262bn (€288bn) of transactions involving French companies announced in 2000 were mainly accounted for by the TMT sector. The €40bn acquisition of Orange by France Télécom and the $34bn all-share purchase of Seagram by Vivendi were exceptional deals executed in an exceptional climate.