Why did French youth revolt last year? Many had superficial and critical analyses. But we asked a French economist who is sensitive to social issues to give his views. He argues that it is further evidence that the French social model has been under pressure for many years.

The author claims that the more managerial capitalism changes, the more it remains the same. He begins by analyzing John Kenneth Galbraith's description of corporate structure in the 1950s and 1960s. But he finds that the rising influence of finance since then has ironically only made managers...