Is the US more anticompetitive than France?

France economy minister Arnaud Montebourg, prompted by opposition to the acquisition of Alstom’s power business by GE, has issued a decree requiring state approval for most foreign acquisitions. (One can expect that approval will not be given in this case.) In response to criticism that such a restriction is anticompetitive, Montebourg pointed out that his decree is no broader than the rights of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. (This inter-agency committee was established in 1988 to prevent Japanese acquisitions of US companies if “there is credible evidence that leads the President to believe that the foreign interest exercising control might take action that threatens to impair the national security.” It frequently blocks transactions.)