| Abstract: | In the 1970s and 1980s the French state was closely involved in dirigiste policies of technological development in the telecommunications sector, but in the 1990s the challenge of planning France's entry to the Information superhighway is throwing up questions for traditional strategies of organising the production of infrastructures and services. Although official reports on 'les autoroutes de l'information' stress the need for immediate action, the complexities of reconciling traditional dirigiste policies with the free-market recommendations of the European Commission and the uncertainties of the Presidential elections of 1995 have hindered France's ability to act quickly. |
