Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-04-20
Source: The Conversation – France (in French)– By Gaël Gueguen, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, TBS Education
The representation of entrepreneurs in the French press has changed significantly since the beginning of the 21st century. Both in the quantity of articles and in the nature of journalistic narratives. We have studied these developments to better understand the driving forces behind “entrepreneurialism,” this current of thought that regards entrepreneurship as a remedy for society’s problems.
Entrepreneurship has become a mainstream topic, it has even turned into a spectacle. On M6, during prime time hours, the show“Who wants to be my partner?”allows project holders to find investors. A long time ago, in 1986, businessman Bernard Tapie had already combined business creation and television with the show“Ambitions”on TF1 to show the face of a bolder France, “enthusiastic and generous.”
When the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron mentions the“French start-up nation”In 2017, its objective is to present entrepreneurship as a means to positively transform a country by enabling individuals to be actors of these changes.
From the managerial model to the entrepreneurial model
Economists David Audretsch and Roy Thurik hypothesized that, since the last quarter of the 20th century, Western countries have shifted from a managerial model, which values large enterprises (private or public), to aentrepreneurial model, enhancing individual actions and the“Small is Beautiful“, from the title of economist Ernst Schumacher’s book. If we wanted to caricature, entrepreneurship is a dynamic bearing benefits and the entrepreneur an inspiring figure.
But the highlighting of the successes of theSilicon Valley, young tech startups, unicorns ordecacorns(these start-ups valued at more than one billion or ten billion dollars) cannot obscure thedangersof an abusive schematization around the imagery of start-ups and entrepreneurship. Indeed, entrepreneurship is a complex and multifaceted process, and should not be considered a miracle. A research trend has thus developed for acritical approach to entrepreneurship.
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Illustrating this model change, entrepreneurship has enjoyed strong media exposure for about thirty years. This enthusiasm goes beyond the simple economic sphere. In the artificial intelligence sector, the media exposure of Mistral AI and that of its co-founderArthur Mensch, just like the story surrounding Demis Hassabis and DeepMind, are recent examples of this exposure.
“Entrepreneurialism” or the entrepreneurial ideology
The conceptof “entrepreneurship”appears to us as relevant to study this trend. It is an ideology that no longer sees entrepreneurship as a simple economic activity, but as a universal solution to society’s ills. Simply put, it is good to undertake and everyone can undertake; let us remember Emmanuel Macron’s statement on X:
It is accepted that the media (specialized or mainstream) play a central role in the construction of representations. The media act as witnesses and actors of a country’s culture. Sociological studies, for example thoseby Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky, remind that the media directs the public’s attention. Even if they do not directly dictate what to think, they define the topics that should be considered important.
Regarding entrepreneurship, media coverage is regularly criticized for its uniform, excessively positive, even heroic character, which showcases success figures, often male andfar removed from the daily reality of entrepreneurs.
Shaping the collective imagination of entrepreneurship
Starting from this observation,we conducted researchin order to have an overall view of how the generalist press treats the subject of entrepreneurship over a long period. Two major questions motivated us. How has the discourse on entrepreneurship evolved at the beginning of the 21st century? And, in what way do the different newspapers, according to their editorial line, shape the collective imagination around the notion of entrepreneurship?
To answer these questions, we studied the coverage of entrepreneurship in the five main French national general daily newspapers (le Monde,le Figaro,Libération,la Croixandl’Humanité) over a period from 2001 to 2022. By analyzing more than 6,000 articles, all containing the term “entrepreneurship,” using textual analysis methods, our results allow us to identify a major transformation: the shift from a macro representation, focused on the economy and politics, to a micro representation, oriented towards the individual, their journey, and their lived experience. This shift reflects greater heterogeneity in the treatment of entrepreneurship and contributes to a broader dissemination of “entrepreneurialism” in French culture.
Our results also reveal that the volume of articles dealing with entrepreneurship has progressively increased, rising from about a hundred per year at the beginning of the 2000s to a peak of over 500 articles in 2017, an election year, before experiencing a slight decrease. Newspapers leaning right or center (le Figaroandle Monde) produce the majority of content on the subject.
Macro and micro representations
Themacrorepresentationis predominant in left-wing newspapers (l’HumanitéandLibération) and was majority during the first decade of observation (2001-2012). Entrepreneurship is considered there globally, impersonally, and institutionally as a system. It is addressed from the perspective of public action, economic growth, fiscal measures orlinked to employment. It is also found in the political debate, particularly during the various presidential campaigns. Furthermore, reflections on entrepreneurial ideology, capitalism, and the economic system are associated with it.
Themicrorepresentationis more supported by a right-wing newspaper such asLe Figaroand has grown significantly, becoming the majority during the most recent period (2018-2022). It is a more embodied entrepreneurship, because it concerns theconcrete experiencesactors of entrepreneurship. This representation is frequently found in articles dealing with higher education or technological innovation in the startup world. It will consider the careers of entrepreneurs in biographical form, often to recountsuccess stories. Entrepreneurship is approached from the perspective of life path, family, aspirations, but also the places where entrepreneurship takes place. Microrepresentation therefore humanizes the entrepreneur.
In the press, a clear shift in the representation of the entrepreneur
The temporal evolution of the results shows a clear shift. In the early 2000s, the press spoke about entrepreneurship mainly as an economic policy tool or as a subject of ideological debate. Gradually, the discourse shifted towards narrative and individual experience. We are witnessing the normalization of the figure of the entrepreneur, who is no longer just an economic statistic but becomes a familiar character, whose dreams, failures, and family environment are recounted.
We are observing an increasing diversity of topics covered. For example, newspapers located in the center, such asle Mondeandla Croix, present the most diverse approach, navigating between economic, social, and human aspects. On the right,le Figaroremains more focused on the managerial and biographical aspects. Meanwhile, on the left,l’HumanitéandLibérationfavor somepolitical and societal angles.
These results confirm that entrepreneurship is now a social fact, permeating the economy, politics, society, and education sections of newspapers. By moving from an abstract discourse on government policies to stories about life projects, we believe the press contributes to normalizing the idea that entrepreneurship is a possible, even desirable, option for everyone.
It is impossible to say whether there is too much talk about entrepreneurship, but we can affirm that its treatment by the press is more heterogeneous. It is in this sense that we conclude a rise of “entrepreneurialism.”
Gaël Gueguen does not work for, does not advise, does not hold shares in, and does not receive funds from any organization that could benefit from this article, and has declared no other affiliation than his research institution.
–ref. Is there too much talk about entrepreneurship? The case of the French press –https://theconversation.com/do-we-talk-too-much-about-entrepreneurship-the-case-of-the-french-press-276643