The 2022 ‘Choose France’ summit, taking place at the Palace of Versailles on Monday (11 July), will gather 180 CEOs from some of the world’s largest multinationals amid allegations that President Emmanuel Macron got too close to comfort with US tech firm Uber.
“We are very satisfied by this turnout”, an official source told EURACTIV. “It speaks to France’s attractiveness for foreign investment projects”. The attendance level is set to hit a record high.
The “Choose France” conference was created as an annual event to showcase the country’s economic attractiveness for foreign investment projects. So far, 80 investment projects have been announced with a combined value of €12 billion and a projected 21,000 new jobs.
The event comes as President Macron is reported to have signed a “secret” deal with the US tech company Uber when he was Economy Minister between 2014 and 2016 – raising questions about relations between the government and private sector and the ethics of Uber’s aggressive lobbying tactics.
€6.7 billion investment and 4,000 jobs created
At this year’s summit, 14 foreign investment projects worth €6.7 billion are expected to be announced, with 4,000 jobs due to be created as a result.
At the heart of these investments is Macron’s aim to reinforce the country’s economic sovereignty through reindustrialisation to make France a new “industrial powerhouse”, according to the official source.
Vietnam’s Vinfast, a car manufacturer, will announce the opening of 25 showrooms and workshops across the country, expecting to create 350 to 400 new jobs.
American FedEx is also due to announce the creation of 1,200 jobs in the logistical and transport sectors.
Specific projects are also due to be announced and are already underway in the health industry – a critical sector following a two-year pandemic which highlighted the need for the relocalisation of medicine and specialised equipment production.
Over €3 billion worth of health-related investment projects have seen the light of day since 2018, and 1800 jobs have been created or secured.
In this vein, UK pharmaceutical GlaxoSmithKlein (GSK) is due to invest in French R&D and clinical trials – making France GSK’s fourth most significant market for clinical research globally.
German pharma giant Merck also announced €175 million investment and 500 new jobs in their production facilities in several locations in France back in January.
France most attractive country in Europe for FDIs
Making France attractive to foreign investments is rooted in the “France 2030” economic strategy, which aims to “radically transform key sectors in the French economy through research, innovation and industrial investments”. It also intends to set France as “a leader of tomorrow’s economy”, according to a government press release.
According to consultancy EY’s May 2022 foreign direct investments (FDI) barometer, France remains the most attractive European country for foreign investments for the third year. 1,221 foreign investment projects were secured in 2021, a 24% increase since 2020.
In comparison, projects increased a mere 2% in the UK and fell 10% in Germany in the same year.
“If the number of investment projects reaches record-high levels, it is only due to Emmanuel Macron’s economic policy-making since 2017”, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire tweeted.
[Edited by Alice Taylor and Benjamin Fox]
