Bonnell: France Is a 'Good Deal' to Do Investment

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00:00Was this a success? Where is France in terms of where it wants to be and where the president

00:05would like it to be versus the reality of where it is? There's always been a lot of

00:09criticism of France over the last few years in terms of labor standards and what's been

00:13going on in terms of the economy. Was last night a reset for the French president and

00:19the French economy? Well, first of all, it was a success because if you look at the amount

00:26of investment, as you said, $40 billion announced last night versus $2 billion in 2017, definitely

00:35we are growing every year. For the sixth consecutive year, France is the most attractive country

00:42in Europe for foreign investment. So there is no doubt about the success of it. And all

00:47the criticism are concerning the logical of business. Sometimes some deals don't go through.

00:53We all know this. But the percentage of those are really small compared to the ones that

00:57are really going through. So I believe that we're seeing the power of the economical

01:04politics of France, which is a mix of stabilization of the economy, simplification, which is still

01:11a problem. And of course, we can see that we'll need some more protection. So the idea of investing

01:18in Europe and in France is going to be critical for a lot of foreign companies is the political

01:24scene in France stable enough now to deliver the kind of investment that you're looking

01:28for. You know, if I look at the worldwide, I mean, we just heard the person from Qatar.

01:36I mean, the big concern of the world is the political instability with some erratic decision

01:42made by great leaders, where we some, of course, desperate conflict everywhere. So in this kind

01:49of mist, I think that Europe and France more specifically, is probably a good deal. Because even though we do have

01:57our kind of Gaelic issues where we fight all the time, we all agree that France has to stay one of the leading

02:05countries for investment in the coming years. So instead of being short sighted and seeing just like the almost

02:12daily political issues, on the long term, decarbonized energy, solid implantation of location, sorry, for

02:23companies and for factories, a lot of talent, massive, massive pool of talent. So all those things are to be

02:31considered as solid and able to reinsure any investment in France.

02:37Bruno, it's Creedy in London. Let's talk about some of the mechanisms that perhaps other countries are using to

02:42generate that kind of investment in the long term. Things like tax cuts. It's a very popular theme in the States dealing with the same

02:49deficit issues that France is dealing with as well. Subsidization very much on the table. You talk about the talent

02:55pool. A big part of that is things like other incentives and credits. What more can France do, perhaps using some of those

03:01mechanisms to bring that investment onto French territory?

03:06So first of all, we do have the plan I'm in charge of, which is 54 billion euros of investment in innovation. And this can go through

03:15subsidies, through loans or through capital. That's really a kind of de-risking operation that's worth it. And talking about all the

03:25announcement on the tax cut, looking at the other changes in the U.S. in kind of the mentality and the stability of the government right

03:33now, I would probably wonder if they're going to last. So so the idea that that that we have a long term and stable

03:41initiative with the support of this company and the talent, as I said before, is probably an interesting

03:49advantage compared to some other countries. That's how I would phrase it.

03:54Bruno, thinking about competition for those investment dollars or those investment euros,

03:59we see that Germany is, of course, embarking on a big investment drive that covers infrastructure, defense.

04:05And there seems to be some excitement from international investors about that prospect.

04:09Do you fear that France, in the eyes of international investors, could be sidelined by those German opportunities?

04:17Definitely, I think that that the decisions that that Germany is making right now is interesting

04:23because they make it with a wheel, a strong wheel of reestablishing the the strong collaboration

04:30between France and Germany. So I think that there is a benefit to to each other to share experiences.

04:36We went through a very hard time in France with the deindustrialization, a lot of problem with

04:43refocusing of technologies on specific sectors. Of course, Germany right now is facing all this energy

04:50crisis due to the Russian gas and the choices, the energy choices back back in the beginning of the century.

04:59So I would really consider that sharing our experiences and power is probably the way the

05:06same way we did France 2030 plan to reestablish some massive strategic sectors at the French level.

05:13Europe should probably focus, as Mr. Draghi says, on reestablishing European power on those sectors by

05:20combining talent, strength and budget.

05:25OK, so some focus there on the sectors that really matter for the future for Europe.

05:30What about the expectations we should have about the trade deal between Europe and the United States?

05:37Is there a conversation in France that goes along the lines of, look, 10% seems to be a good outcome

05:43for other countries. Maybe we need to accept we'll end up with 10% tariffs. Or do you think Europe should

05:49hold its nerve and go for for lower tariffs than that?

05:51Well, in any negotiation, it takes two to tango. So the whole thing is what kind of steps,

05:59what are the next steps that the U.S. are going to take? Because if we start, you know, accepting

06:05like short term deals, nothing guarantees that in a couple of months or weeks or days,

06:12their attitude in the U.S. will be another once more will change again.

06:17So I would probably go sector by sector and see what are the sectors in need of, you know,

06:24closed deals and remain some other deal open because the competition is still on.

06:29And there is a necessity for the U.S. to

06:31to accept some products that are coming from other countries. So I believe that the negotiation is

06:38actually just beginning and setting some dates and then take it or leave it. I don't know the

06:44art of the deal so well, but I'm telling you, it's not the way that diplomatic deal is going to play.

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