French opinions on reinforcing trade barriers to protect companies 2020, by party

At the end of 2020, about three French people out of ten considered that France should maintain or increase its trade barriers, insofar as this would protect companies from importing products from foreign competitors, even if this could have a negative effect on French consumers and producers in export sectors. This proportion stood at about one in four among Emmanuel Macron's party voters, and at almost one in two among those of the Rassemblement National party.

Protectionist measures in trade intervention policy

Increasing trade barriers is a protectionist measure that is part of an interventionist economic policy conducted by the state. Goals include maintaining employment in certain industries, reducing the trade deficit, or protecting standards of living. These measures essentially consist of curbing imports, through customs barriers, restrictive standards, or administrative obstacles, encouraging exports with various subsidies, tax incentives, or devaluation, and giving preference to domestic companies. Protectionism is often opposed to free trade (whose current major result is the globalization of trade) and by extension to the trade liberalization policy measures. Since 2009, the French government has implemented more than 700 interventionist measures of this kind.

Is the crisis increasing consumer concern for national production?

With France's annual trade deficit reaching more than 80 billion euros, the development of the local economy represents a major issue, and challenges related to the preservation and development of French production seem to have multiplied in recent years. Indeed, while a third of French people favor an opening to the world on the part of France, they are also quite numerous to ask for more protectionism with regard to trade.
These opinions are to some extent reflected in their relationship to consumption, especially since the beginning of the sanitary crisis. In 2020, three quarters of the population said they would be more inclined to buy goods if they were produced in France. And for most people, the attention they paid to the national origin of consumer goods has been reinforced by the crisis. Thus, an increasing number of them favor national companies - even if this sometimes implies a higher price - insofar as doing so may contribute to the support of the national economy and is an act of solidarity with French producers, strongly affected by the economic crisis.