Macron: "Paris Has Returned to the World Financial Map"

JP Morgan Moving Headquarters in London
Macron Attends Paris Branch Opening Ceremony
"Showing France's Pro-Business Image"

French President Emmanuel Macron [Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy reporters Hyun-ui Cho and Suhwan Kim] French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the Paris branch of JP Morgan, the world's largest investment bank, which is opening a new office. This is part of efforts to develop Paris as a new financial hub following Brexit (the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union).

According to foreign media on the 27th (local time), President Macron will attend the opening ceremony of JP Morgan's Paris branch on the 30th and meet with JP Morgan Chairman Jamie Dimon. On the 29th, a day before the opening, a government-led investment attraction event called "Choose France," spearheaded by President Macron, will be held. More than 120 CEOs from companies worldwide, including Dimon, are expected to attend this event.

Macron's aides described the president's attendance at the JP Morgan Paris branch opening as an effort "to showcase France's pro-business stance." At the event, President Macron is expected to declare that "Paris has returned to the global financial map." The newly renovated JP Morgan Paris branch is located near the Louvre Museum in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. It will employ 440 staff members, most of whom have relocated from the London branch.

JP Morgan had early on prepared for Brexit by transferring the operations and personnel of its London branch to Paris. After moving the London branch's sales team to Paris, trading staff are also being relocated to the Paris branch. To facilitate this, JP Morgan purchased a seven-story building in central Paris in January last year. At that time, Kirill Koubliansky, head of JP Morgan's Paris branch, said, "After Brexit, Paris will become a major business site for JP Morgan."

Since taking office in May 2017, President Macron has introduced various labor reform policies to actively attract foreign investment. In particular, the French government is focusing on elevating Paris as a new financial hub after Brexit. Global banks have long regarded London as the gateway to the European market, but after Brexit, the focus is shifting to cities like Paris and Frankfurt. One of Macron's advisors told reporters, "London had everything," adding, "Our ambition for Paris is to have everything as well."

According to the UK think tank New Financial, Paris has attracted 102 of the 440 financial firms that relocated some staff, assets, or operations from London to other parts of the European Union after Brexit. This ranks second after Dublin, which attracted 135 firms. New Financial predicts, "Paris will benefit the most in terms of jobs in the long term."

The French far-right party National Rally (RN) was defeated in all 13 mainland regions in the second round of the regional elections held on the 27th (local time), according to exit polls.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, in the runoff of the last nationwide regional elections before next year's French presidential election, the ruling party and the far-right National Rally (RN) suffered defeats in all regions. According to exit polls released by polling agencies Ipsos and Sopra Steria on the day, in the 12 mainland regional authorities, the center-right camp including the Republicans (LR) is expected to win in 7 regions, while the center-left camp including the Socialist Party (PS) is projected to win in 5 regions. Neither President Emmanuel Macron's La R?publique En Marche (LREM) nor Marine Le Pen's National Rally secured victories in any region.

Although the ruling party's defeat in the local elections was anticipated amid President Macron's stagnant approval ratings, the complete loss of the party led by Le Pen, who is the frontrunner in the next presidential election polls, is considered a surprise. As this was the last nationwide election before the presidential election and has been regarded as a barometer of public sentiment for the upcoming vote, the election results are expected to be a severe blow to both Le Pen and President Macron, who are competing for the top two spots in the presidential race polls.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.