Perrot

Perrot and the finance ministry declined to comment.

Holding doctorates in economics and mathematics, Perrot has written several research papers on competition and large online tech firms, one of which, published last year, is entitled "Digital platforms: regulating them before it's too late".

Perrot, 63, is a top civil servant at the French finance ministry.

Perrot knows the French antitrust world well, having served as co-chair of the antitrust authority and having been part of a consultancy firm, Mapp, that specialises in competition matters.

Stuff magazine's Alan Perrot was particularly scathing, calling the song "cultural theft" that "appropriated an entire Irish folk tradition" while indulging in "a grab bag of Irish stereotypes that stops a 'to be sure' short of 'diddly-dee potatoes'".