ABSTRACT
THE origins of public enterprise can be traced back to the ancien régime. Among the oldest undertakings of the state are the gunpowder monopoly, the national arsenals and dockyards, the porcelain manufactory at Sèvres and the Gobelins tapestry works, and the postal service. A tobacco monopoly was established in 1810. As in several other European countries, the government prefers to reap the entire profit from the consumption of tobacco rather than levy an excise tax on its sale. Cultivation is left in private hands (half the tobacco consumed is grown in France itself) but the state is sole purchaser, and cigarettes are produced in state manufactories. Distribution is handled by some fifty thousand private concessionaires who receive a commission on sales and are obliged to sell postage stamps in return.
