French President Emmanuel Macron’s government says his business-friendly agenda is luring foreign investors. But it’s not winning him many friends at home.
(Bloomberg) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s government says his business-friendly agenda is luring foreign investors. But it’s not winning him many friends at home.
The French government says foreign investors continued to add jobs in the country last year, shrugging off higher inflation and the war in Ukraine.
A total of 1,725 projects created or “maintained” 58,810 jobs, up 31% compared to 2021, according to Business France, the government agency charged with helping French businesses abroad. Most projects came from businesses based in the European Union, while the US remained the top investor in the country, ahead of Germany and the UK, according to the agency.
Well into his second term in office, Macron has been pitching France as a pro-business destination, making the labor market more flexible and cutting corporate taxes. But his agenda has faced opposition in the streets amid worries about soaring inflation and the fear of having to work longer under his flagship pension reform.
His push to attract global corporations, including with the pension reform, may have cost Macron his popularity, dragging it to its lowest in three years. The president’s move to secretly award Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos the Légion d’honneur, France’s most prestigious decoration, on a day when unions were demonstrating against his pension reform hasn’t gone down well.
Macron’s Popularity Reaches Three-Year Low in Ifop Poll
France last year topped an annual ranking of European countries as a destination for foreign investment projects for the third year in a row as Brexit continued to weigh on sentiment in the UK and a tight labor market kept companies away from Germany.
France Holds Lead in Europe for Luring Investment Projects
The euro area’s second-biggest economy benefited from a reorganization of logistical and industrial supply chains and a rebound of sectors hit hard by the Covid pandemic, such as automotive and aeronautical manufacturers, consulting company EY said at the time.
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