In a place that has become a hotbed of anti-high speed trading sentiment, Paris was the setting this week for a conference on high-frequency trading, and in contrast to the cold snap that has beset Europe, the attitude of participants was relatively warm towards the much-vilified activity.

High-frequency trading, which involves the use of computer-driven techniques to trade on exchanges and trading venues in fractions of a second, has become one of the financial industry great evils in recent years, for supposedly profiting at the expense of traditional investors and exacerbating volatility. The French Senate even came close to imposing a direct tax on high-speed, before quietly shelving the plans last month.