The production site of Toyota in Onnaing, near Valenciennes, on December 12, 2017 in the North (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI. AFP)
Visit to the factory Toyota (T:7203) of Onnaing (North), then reception at Versailles of 140 leaders of major foreign groups for a summit called “Choose France” (Choose France): Emmanuel Macron wants to show Monday that his policy is pro-business, attracts multinational corporations.
The bosses of major american, chinese and european, such as Coca-Cola, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) (Sheryl Sandberg), Google (NASDAQ:GOOGLE), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), UPS, Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), Bosch, SAP (NYSE:SAP), Ikea, Barilla, Siemens (DE:SIEGn), Volvo or Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) have accepted the invitation of the head of State, acclaimed by the business community for its dynamism and its relief program of business taxes and labour flexibility.
Several groups have agreed to announce that day of big investment projects in France, a gesture of support to the French policy. The Elysée waits five ads to be significant in the industry and the digital, and about a dozen other medium-sized, including Toyota, which will announce an investment of several hundred million euros in its factory of Onnaing, with hundreds of new jobs.
To mark the event, the president of the Republic will spend three hours Monday afternoon in the factory to meet employees and leaders, before heading to the palace of Versailles. He will send to his guests behind closed doors, “for more direct dialogue,” according to the Elysee.
Convince bosses, which he has learned the language when he was a banker at Rothschild, is an exercise in which Mr. Macron is well-oiled. The place as it is familiar. When he was the minister of Economy, he had already chosen the gold of Versailles, to invite foreign investors.
No less than sixteen members of the government will be present, including the Prime minister, Edouard Philippe and the minister of the Economy Bruno The Mayor, who announced that he would ask the oem Bosch new investment in its plant in Rodez (Aveyron), where 300 to 800 jobs are at risk, according to the trade unions.
– Effect Macron’ –
Emmanuel Macron will fly later Wednesday for Davos, where he will deliver a plea for a globalization that is better organized, with “a political vision of the world”, according to his entourage.
The head of State will be able to capitalize on the rise of the image of France to foreign investors since his election. According to a barometer carried out in November by the u.s. Chamber of commerce and the cabinet Bath, 72% of us investors expect a positive evolution of the economic context in France, as compared to 30% in 2016, a record for 18 years.
In December, 70 patterns of French subsidiaries of foreign groups, had applauded the first reforms of the government, and according to a survey by Ipsos (PA:ISOS) with 200 leaders of large foreign companies in December, 60% believe the country attractive compared to 46% in 2016.
France believes it has a card to play at world level, in a context marked by the Brexit and the unpredictability of Donald Trump.
The government is trying to attract to Paris international banks would leave London, thanks to a reduction of the severance pay of the traders. And the capital will soon house the european banking Authority.
Everything is not a “Macron”. The year 2016 had counted 1.117 physical investments, foreigners in France (+16%), a record for ten years, according to the Business France agency to promote France at the international in which the ex-leader Muriel Pénicaud has become minister of Labour of the government Macron.
But these investments are less job creators : only 30.108 jobs were created or maintained thanks to foreign capital in 2016 (-11%). In addition, the american giants of the digital, if they invest in France, largely escape the tax on companies, against which Paris attempts to mobilize his neighbors.
The government is also concerned about the tax reform that the united states, which will lower the corporate tax from 35% to 21%. Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, who want to harmonize corporate tax in Europe, are likely to be overtaken by the competition u.s. tax.
Last flat is likely to flee the capital, the France wants to fight the “looting” of its technologies, as signified Bruno Le Maire in China.
Paris will thus expand the “decree Montebourg” on the control of investments in the sectors of digital technology and pushes the european Commission to take more control over the investments in extra-european.
