More than 200 Chief Executive Officers of various industries and organizations are expected in Versailles, France to participate in the 2003 edition of Choose France Summit, which opens Monday. The theme of the Summit is, Investing in a Sustainable Future.
This was announced by the French Presidency in a press briefing held last weekend by the Advisor to the President on Export and Trade Policies, Victoire Vandeville as well as the Advisor to the President on Industry, Research, Innovation and Digitalization, Matthieu Landon.
According to Vandeville, over 50 countries of the world would be taking part in the Summit, which is in its 6th edition. The aim of the Summit, she said, is to gather foreign business minds to meet with various French key public stakeholders such as Ministers and CEOs.
“In Versailles, they have the opportunity to have B2B and B2G meetings. This year, we are happy to have more than 200 CEOs coming from all over the world. We have more than 50 countries represented, and it will allow them to have 400 bilateral meetings during the day.
“For us, it is very important. It is the occasion for the French President to tell everyone that France is a very welcoming country, to present and explain the reforms we have carried out since 2017, and to highlight the importance of international investment in supporting growth, innovation and employment throughout the country.
“This year, as we firmly believe that environmental transition is key, the summit is entitled Investing in a Sustainable Future. As you know, President Emmanuel Macron came at the Presidency with a very pro-business agenda to increase our attractiveness and since 2017, we pursued a full strategy to promote and to increase our competitiveness”, Vandeville said.
She added that with the reduction of corporate tax from 33 to 25 per cent, the country is in line with the taxation of its major European neighbours. “We have reduced tax burden on capital, with the introduction of a single flat rate tax of 30 per cent on capital income. Production taxes have also been reduced. We cut down red tape for companies with many simplification measures. We modernized the French labour market with the Labor Ordinances of 2017. And as you all know, President Macron also achieved a reform in the unemployment insurance system last month.”
Adding: “France became for the first year in 2019 the most attractive country in Europe. We were very happy to learn that for the fifth year running, France is also the most attractive country for foreign investment. And the results of the EY barometer clearly showed that we are in the top position in Europe with more than 1,250 investments in 2022 in France. This was really an achievement in an international context with the Inflation Reduction Act in the US, war in Ukraine and electricity prices rising.”
Foreign companies will reveal their new investments in France during the Summit and Vandeville was optimistic that the volume of total investment announced will be a record.
In 2018, we announced a total of investment of 2 billion Euros. In 2019, 600 million Euros; 2020, 1.8 billion Euros. 2021, we reached 3.6 billion Euros investment at the summit. 2022 was different because of COVID. We had two different editions that raised to a top ever 10.8 billion Euros invested in France, in our territories.
“We are still working hard to secure the last investments. But we are confident that foreign investors attending the Choose France Summit will reach a record of amount invested compared to all previous edition. So we are thrilled to welcome all CEOs next Monday in Paris.”
Speaking also at the briefing, Matthieu Landon said the Summit is taking place in a context where the President is putting a lot of pressure on the strategy to re-industrialize France in a climate of acceleration of climate change, acceleration of technological change, and of course, acceleration of other countries that are trying to strengthen their own industry.
“As Victoire said, the President presented his national strategy last Friday at l’Élysee. He also went to the French town of Dunkirk to illustrate his approach. Why Dunkirk? Because Dunkirk is an industrial town which has lost a lot of employment in the past decade and even before due to de-industrialization. But since 2017, Dunkirk has been the home of more than 40 investments from foreign companies and French companies.
“We have invested a lot with the relaunch plan, with what we call the France 2030 plan, which is a very ambitious plan to invest in battery technology, hydrogen, AI, and in all the technologies of the future. We are pushing this agenda at the European level so that the same rationale is pushed forward at the European level.
In that context, the President will present new measures to keep France at the top of its attractiveness, especially in terms of speed of implanting new green industry, decarbonized plants. This means speeding all the procedures to implant, build and authorize new plants. The President will announce that we will divide by two, the time it takes to do it in France. A very strong measure to make France more attractive. That is one of the tough things that are currently an issue for investors.
France will become Europe’s first country to take the full approach on strengthening its industry. And it will be one of the strongest responses to IRA. We have done a lot in terms of industry and with today and Choose France, we keep accelerating our reindustrialization agenda”, he said.
