Another Perspective on the Coca-Cola Affair in Postwar France

Abstract

The Coca-Cola affair is a notable incident that is often cited in the history of American investments in France. However, the previous literature has generally not examined the social and economic contexts framing the incident, choosing instead to focus on the perspectives of the French communist attacks on Coca-Cola and the political pressure exerted by the French beverage industry to deny Coca-Cola’s application to operate in France. This article, by analyzing the affair based on a broader historical framework, attempts to offer another perspective on this famous incident. Drawing on French and American archival materials, it argues that the major causes of Coca-Cola’s defeat in France were primarily practical, financial considerations of the French government. The success of Pepsi Cola’s investment project in France provides confirmation of such considerations, and were closely related to France’s ultimate national objectives in the postwar years.