00:00Give us your top line. What did you make of the investment deals? How material were they? How
00:05consequential? How much was repackaged and re-announced? Was this significant?
00:11Here again, we did it. For the eighth consecutive year in a row, having been in my functions for
00:17all of these years, I can tell you that we surprised everyone. We have actually in excess
00:21of 50 new investments for a total of 20 billion, which are adding to the 47th to date that we have.
00:29So it's a real performance. I remember back on February 11th, we announced at the AIA Summit
00:35an overall package of 0,109 billion of euros, out of which 17 has been concretely signed and
00:43announced this time around. But the truth of the matter, if you have any doubt, is that when you
00:48look back at the eight years and the 170 plus investment we've done, less than 10 has been
00:55challenged to date. So this is real. This is really bringing jobs. This is demonstrating that
01:01no matter what have been the 2024 challenges, both internally in terms of elections and possibly
01:10lack of majority, the investor continue to vote with their checkbook. And that's what is really
01:16critical. So I believe we are very, very pleased of what has been delivered over the last 24 hours.
01:23Okay. And yet the broader picture is challenging. FDI in Europe, so foreign direct investment into
01:30Europe falling to a nine year low in 2024. What more, Pascal, does France and Europe need to do to
01:38revive sentiments around investment in France, in Europe?
01:41The truth of the matter is, the IRA for Mr. Joe Biden has been critical to basically bring an increase of up to 20% of the FDI towards back the US. If you add to that the issue of the variety created by the opening and the plan of Mr. Trump's, there is no question on the fact that the overall FDI has been decreasing. But in that battle, France, for the sixth consecutive year, as per EY, essentially, announcement,
02:11have been leading the way with in excess of 1,025 investment in France, far ahead of either Germany or UK. It doesn't mean that we need basically to continue on that. But what we need is continue to fight on simplifying overall our way of going to business.
02:31We certainly have a cost per hour, which is still too high. But maybe we need also to basically regroup the savings that we have in Europe and to reinvest them into the AI, the green transitions, and many of the revolutions, the technological revolutions coming up.
02:47So that's what is a stake. So yes, we've got a challenge. We've been the challenge. We continue to do well. There's a lot more to come.
02:55Look, you have your ear to the ground. You speak to CEOs. You speak to lawmakers. You speak, no doubt, to the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
03:02What is your assessment of what Trump's policies are doing to investment flows?
03:07No, I really believe that we tackle the AI revolutions, right? Tom, you need to understand that what has been announced yesterday is real.
03:15We are bringing up to 35 sites ready-made with the right energy, which, as you may recall, is largely decarbonated, one of the more competitive in Europe.
03:27More competitive in Europe, but still twice the price of what you get in the US.
03:32So part of the overall deal is that we need to refocus on how we're going to source a decarbonated energy at a competitive cost.
03:39We need also to ensure that we continue to have a demand, which is here, because remember, investors, as a first criteria, come to serve a market.
03:49Our market in France, close to 70 millions in Europe, but from France, they want to use also France as the best springboard to go after the 450 millions in a Britain market.
03:58If I'm adding UK, you're even above 500. So that's what we're at stake.
04:02Now, for that, again and again, we need to be strategic, allocate or resource a handful of numbers of projects, ensure that we basically embrace the AI revolutions, both from applications.
04:14So we increase and extract productivity of the European business, while we basically embrace also that revolution, which is absolutely massive.
04:21So that's really what has been on the agenda.
04:22The president has been meeting also challengers like the CEO of BYD, challengers like Mr. Slim, the leaders of one of the largest telco in Mexico.
04:34We've been also embracing the large capital platforms.
04:37For the first time, Stephen Schwarzman, a huge supporter of Trump, was present.
04:42Just to illustrate how much that event has been taking traction as attractions all around the world.
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