The Silicon Valley and Us — the French

Should we be scared of Silicon Valley? Our industrialists fear the inexorable rise of a China that is regularly accused of unfair competition. In the IT business, should not our French start-up companies tremble too at the all-mighty California? Because if the textile, electronics and a growing part of the rest of the industry are now “made in China,” the world of the Internet is clearly “made in California.”

Can the little Frenchies — confronted with Google, Apple, Facebook and other Web actors which can rely on the English language, a huge domestic market and a considerable long-time lead in conquering global markets — hope to find a place in the cyberworld that is more than modest?

Just as it is essential to successfully become — alone or through partnerships — a key player in the Chinese market in order to better compete with China, we have to learn how to work with Silicon Valley — and not against it — in order to have a chance to become a leader in the new technology industry.

Relocating everything to Palo Alto, immigrating and adopting the American nationality is obviously out of the question. But we should not go to the opposite extreme and come down with Gaul village syndrome.* On the contrary, it is essential to go to Silicon Valley, open offices there and integrate with that special ecosystem that is made of innovations and constant interactions. We have to learn to share without fear of being plagiarized.

This is what Ericsson understood — without giving up its Swedish identity — when the provider of telecommunications moved its president of R&D to California. Now immersed in IP technology, it remains at the cutting edge and is ready for the next move. It can draw from a talent pool that is much more international, instead of only American. It also hopes that its innovations born in Silicon Valley will be exported.

France should follow that example. It should increase exchanges by going as far as creating a Department of Technology, with headquarters based in San Francisco. Its purpose would be to make the dialogue between France and the U.S. easier.

Le Web conference, which is taking place in Paris this week, goes along these lines. Evidently, it is held in English, but the Americans traveled all the way to Paris in order to establish partnerships or to work with the Silicon Sentier.**

In Silicon Valley, the United States is less self-centered and a lot less arrogant than what is claimed.

*Translator’s Note: This is a reference to the French comic books, Asterix, which tell the story of the last Gaul village that resists the Roman invasion.

**Translator’s Note: Silicon Sentier is the area of high-tech businesses in France.