Forthright and reasoned advocacy of protectionism is sufficiently rare to deserve attention. In this case, a former Gaullist minister and ambassador argues that the European Community would be better off - in welfare, stability, confidence and the wise use of resources - if it had a well-thought-out protective tariff that was flexible enough to offset changes abroad. He sees the advantages of some competition and wants to avoid the growth of inefficiency, but his prescriptions are not altogether persuasive. There is practically no attention paid to how the rest of the world would react if Europe followed this course.
