French corporate finance, 1500-1900

French attempts to imitate the obvious success of joint-stock corporations of Britain and the Netherlands in exploiting the possibilities of long-distance foreign trade created by European discoveries of all sea routes to India and China and the natural resources of the Americas fell far short of their mercantile rivals. Limitations on the finance needed to compete successfully were imposed by the preemptive claims of the crown and the high interest rates demanded by French investors. Napoleonic reforms helped solve some of the problems but even the essential reforms of Napoleon III proved deficient until the Third Republic was formed with the financial support and guidance of the Rothschilds. French structures of business enterprises in the nineteenth and early twentieth century discouraged foreign ownership of French interests, resulting in France largely playing the role of a source of funds in global markets rather than a destination for global investment.