More than 20 billion euros of investments expected at the Choose France summit, announces Macron

The 8th Choose France Summit, a prestigious economic event in Versailles designed to attract foreign investment, is expected to set a new record this year with €20 billion in announcements, Emmanuel Macron revealed Friday. There will be "more than fifty" project disclosures, "and we will pass the €20 billion mark," the French president said in an interview with the regional press. This would break last year's record of €15 billion.

The announcements are expected to cover sectors as diverse as technology, finance, and tourism. France has just been ranked the leading European country for foreign investment by EY for the sixth consecutive year, with 1,025 projects registered in 2024, ahead of the United Kingdom (853) and Germany (608). However, in all three countries, the number of projects has declined in one year, by 14% in France.

Furthermore, it only ranks third in the number of jobs created per project (30), behind Germany (48) and Spain (125). "We are very strong in terms of research and development, activities that are less job-intensive," Emmanuel Macron emphasizes in the interview. However, "behind this, this creates innovation in France," a "key" sector, the president explains. France has already recorded 109 billion euros of private investment, particularly foreign, by 2031, during a summit on Artificial Intelligence in February.

Two hundred CEOs (BYD, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Ikea, BASF, Gulf sovereign wealth funds, etc.) have confirmed their participation in Choose France. Among them, 19% are from the United States. Since 2017, 178 projects totaling €47 billion have been announced—only "eleven" of which have been abandoned, according to Emmanuel Macron.

This year's theme is "France, Land of Creativity." A new segment will be devoted to investments in the tourism and heritage sectors, and another to France's attractiveness for film and television. After taking place for a long time in January, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Choose France has been held at the Château de Versailles every May since 2022.

The French presidency explains that "in the investment decisions we seek to attract, personal knowledge is of great value to business leaders," who appreciate "being able to spend quality time with decision-makers in a beautiful location." Last year, more than 345 meetings took place between business leaders and French authorities.

Emmanuel Macron is at the center of the event, making four trips on the sidelines of the summit and attending it in full on Monday afternoon. He will meet with South Korean business leaders and participate in two small roundtable discussions, on strategic minerals and artificial intelligence, before chairing the final "working dinner."

He will meet in person with Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim, Stella Li, president of Chinese automaker BYD, and the head of Saudi company Qiddiya. "Being number one (in Europe) doesn't just happen; it's really the result of all the policies implemented since 2017" for businesses, the Élysée Palace boasts.

The strategy consulting firm Kearney, for its part, ranks France only third in terms of attractiveness in Europe, behind the United Kingdom and Germany, and seventh in the world (down one place this year). It considers it "impacted by the accelerated deterioration of its budgetary trajectory" and by "a political situation with precarious balances since the dissolution" decided in June by Emmanuel Macron. It also points out that, for the 13th consecutive year, the United States has retained first place in this ranking.

However, the firm notes, "faced with a macroeconomic situation deemed very unstable" and even more so since Donald Trump's announcements of increases in American customs duties, "Europe appears to be a fragile but possible island of stability." This is a hope for the continent - and for France - as Europe is seen by 60% of senior executives worldwide surveyed by the Kearney firm as their first investment choice.