If confirmation were needed that France has caught a severe bout of internet fever as it rushes to catch up with the rest of Europe, it was provided last month. The evidence was the €518m ($498m) IPO for Liberty Surf, the biggest free internet service provider in France. There was a stampede for the stock, which ended up 60 times over subscribed.

Liberty Surf hit the market in the same week as World Online, Lastminute.com and StepStone, and just a week before Lycos Europe. Unfortunately, it was the week in which investors piled out of European internet stock, sending the other four IPOs plunging below their issue price. Of the five deals, Liberty Surf is the only one which is trading above its issue price, at a healthy 42% premium, while World Online and Lastminute.com have nearly halved in value over the same period.