Luxury, Identity, and Economic Power

Rethinking France’s Export Strategy

Abstract

This paper examines how France’s luxury prominence should be understood within a broader export economy marked by uneven manufacturing competitiveness. Although France is widely associated with high-end sectors such as fashion, wines and spirits, and cosmetics, existing scholarship tends to separate the historical foundations of luxury, the competitiveness of premium exports, and the decline of manufacturing. I argue that France’s luxury prominence is best understood as the product of historical cultural capital, firm-level strategy, and selective state support rather than a singular, coherent state-led export strategy. The paper first reviews three bodies of scholarship: historical studies of luxury, empirical work on luxury exports and global value chains, and research on industrial decline. This paper then examines the issue empirically by assessing the relative significance of luxury within France’s export structure, distinguishing between state support and firm-led success, and comparing France with Italy across key export indicators. The findings show that luxury-related sectors occupy a meaningful but not all-encompassing place within France’s export economy. French luxury benefits from selective public reinforcement, but much of its global strength depends on firm-level organization and the commercialization of historical prestige. The comparison with Italy further shows that France’s luxury prominence is concentrated rather than universal, reinforcing the argument that French luxury is best understood as a specialized area of high-value competitiveness and symbolic visibility within a broader and more uneven export economy.