I recently spoke at an event sponsored by AFDEL, the most influential software association in France. 25 CEOs of emerging companies attended the event. They were representative of the challenges facing small IT companies in the US. They have strong technologists and an enduring entrepreneurial spirit. However, they do not have a good track record as a group at reaching international markets (mobile technologies and software for financial services provide two notable exceptions). Also, there are no French buyers of scale left on the map except for Dassault. Good companies, no local buyers - the perfect recipe for cross-border M&A.