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Throughout the election campaign that brought him to the country's executive office in May of this year, France's President Francois Hollande proudly advertised himself as a rich-basher. Remarks like "I don't like the rich" and "my enemy is the world of finance" were often well received by voters inclined to believe that economic activity is a zero-sum game in which a capitalist's gain implies a worker's loss, and vice versa.

Since Mr. Hollande assumed power, this style of electioneering has been put aside. Prominent members of the government continue nonetheless to give vent to the anti-rich rhetoric - if only to attempt to recapture a fast-eroding popularity.

A conspicuous manifestation of the anti-business sentiment that prevails in governmental...