Emmanuel Macron received this Monday at the Elysée the American businessman Elon Musk, one of the attendees of the sixth Choose France summit (choose France), which aims to attract large foreign investments. The French president and the owner of Tesla and SpaceX will participate in a round table in Versailles in the afternoon.
The current French head of state, who was economy minister under the socialist François Hollande and worked in the Rothschild bank before making the leap into politics, is especially proud of having made France one of the most attractive countries in Europe for investments, especially after Brexit. This year Choose France will break a record, with at least 28 announcements and a total of 13,000 million euros in new projects, which means 8,000 jobs.
As Macron himself reported through his Twitter account, in the conversation with Musk they spoke “of the attractiveness of France and the significant advances in the electric vehicle and energy sectors. “We have a lot to do together,” stressed the French president. The American tycoon later had lunch with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire. He suggested that there may be news. “There are negotiations underway, it’s not just to enjoy Versailles,” the minister joked. Musk was confident that “Tesla will make significant investments in France in the future”, although he did not specify when or where. “I am very impressed by the reception reserved by President Macron and the French government for the industry,” he confessed to journalists.
The Choose France format is designed so that the more than two hundred international businessmen and senior executives present can have face-to-face meetings with Macron himself or with his ministers. It is a major public relations operation, while serving the political interests of Macron, who urgently needs to turn the page on the crisis over the pension reform and show that his mandate is taking on new vigor.
In addition to Musk, the French president will dedicate special treatment to the president of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Albert Bourla, who will announce an investment of 500 million euros, to the number one of ArcelorMittal, Lakshmi Mittal, and to the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger.
The most prominent investors in volume of money in this edition of Choose France are the Taiwanese company Prologium Technologies, whose large electric battery factory in Dunkirk will mean investing 5,200 million euros, and the British Newcleo, dedicated to new nuclear technologies, with 3,000 million in on the horizon 2025-2030. The Swedish multinational Ikea announces that it will spend 906 million euros between 2023 and 2026 with initiatives that include renewable energy and circular economy projects. The British pharmaceutical GSK agrees to invest 400 million. The Italian group Sapio puts 200 million euros on the table for projects in the health and biotechnology sectors.
Choosing Versailles, a symbol of sumptuousness and emblem of the French absolute monarchy, does not benefit Macron’s image in front of his critics. Several hundred trade unionists demonstrated with pots and pans, albeit at a great distance from the palace, heavily protected by the police, to demand the repeal of the pension reform. The protesters occupied the train tracks.