[via Dragos]

Dragos pointed an CNEt’s article about technology and France….

The blunt truth is that France, a country with a $1.7 trillion economy, is still better known for its fromage than its technology.

I don’t mean to pick on the French. Truth be told, I’m an unabashed Francophile. I love their food, adore their language and admire their culture. But when it comes to high-tech innovation, there’s no escaping the fact that France does not punch its weight.

There’s no shortage of technical ability in France–but a brain drain is hurting the company’s economy. About 200,000 French men and women, graduates of their country’s best technical schools, are living in the Bay Area, part of the reason there’s a technology gap.

“Lots of new technologies are getting developed in France,” [Gauthier, dean of HEC MBA] said, “such as the ones that went into the Airbus. That’s not being widely communicated.”

Gauthier may have a point. But no amount of spin and marketing is enough if you don’t have the goods. And so far France still has not risen to the challenge.