Yet we also want to be protected from the downside, the job insecurity that results from greater foreign competition and the cultural hegemony of the United States.

ECONOMIST: Economic globalisation

Mr Higonnet believes that, in the 20th century, Paris lost its cultural hegemony to New York, though he is sceptical about whether, in view of the opportunities offered by the Internet, any city will again enjoy that same primacy.

ECONOMIST: Paris