Disney Vs French Government

The most fundamental requirement for a rational, efficient agreement is he ability of the parties involved to determine their interest in the negotiation in question. How successful were Disney and the French government in:

a) Identifying their underlying interests?

The interests of each side were quite different.

In fact, those of Disney were mainly financial interests, whereas those of the French governments were political and economic.

The other distinction highlighted is that the French interests were linked together, whereas those of Disney were different interest without links in between.

Disney's interests were clearly defined. But they have a strategy that put forward another side for the future park: Barcelona. Disney was more attracted by the French proposal but put the two in competition. Then they hope that the French government will make some concessions. For that they make Barcelona more attractive than it really was.

They wanted:

 favourable land purchase terms : a direct investment basis (no licensing)

 a financial scheme that will reduce their initial capital investment

 to increase as much as possible the Disney's share of upside potential

 the French government to make concessions on tax

 the government to finance the improvement of the transportation infrastructures in the area

Their interests were well underlined. Indeed, concerning the investment question, the French site was really favourable as it is situated in the "villes nouvelles", which went only through one authority called EPA (Etablissements Public d'Aménagement). This element is crucial for the duration of the negotiation. In fact, the more intermediaries there are, the longer the negotiation will be.

The other major advantage of the French project is that the French government is not reluctant to expropriate the land needed for the park.

Disney could have seen a positive point in the negotiation when the French prime minister signed the initial letter of understanding between the two parts. Indeed, the fact that the Prime Minister himself signed the letter implies how important the project was for the French government. Then Disney knew they were in strength position, and that they could obtain concessions from the French government.

On the other side, the French government had various interests. It put clearly in advance that their major interest was the employment and the revenues created by the project.

But there are other interests:

 the development of Paris's eastern suburbs

 the creation of 60 000 jobs, that will decrease unemployment

 the impact on the construction industry, which went through a bad period

 creation of revenue for French suppliers during the construction and operational phases