Macron Takes the Lead in Attracting Investment... "Corporate Tax Must Be Lowered Further"

Pension Reform with Determination Next is 'Reviving the Economy'
Global Corporate CEO Meeting 'Chuze France' Held
Investment Attraction Surpasses UK and Germany... "Continued Corporate Tax Cuts"

Emmanuel Macron, the President of France who pushed through pension reform despite political risks, has set economic revitalization as his next key task. While personally taking the lead in attracting foreign investment, he has also rolled up his sleeves to cut corporate taxes. Attention is focused on whether President Macron's drive will shine in economic revitalization as well, calming public opposition and securing momentum for governance.

"Welcoming Foreign Companies"... Macron Takes Direct Action

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 15th (local time), President Macron will hold the 'Choose France' event at the Palace of Versailles near Paris, meeting with over 200 global company CEOs. Macron has held this event since 2018, the year after his inauguration. It is an occasion where the president personally invites global company CEOs to attract overseas investment and stimulate the economy. This year, attendees include Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, and Robert Iger, CEO of Disney.

At this event, plans to attract over 10 billion euros in foreign investment are expected to be announced. Pfizer will invest 500 million euros in production, clinical trials, and research and development (R&D), while IKEA will invest 910 million euros in the French business ecosystem and energy transition. The British company NuScale is reported to support 3 billion euros for small modular reactor development. There is also a plan to invest 710 million euros in a solar panel factory.

This investment plan comes just three days after President Macron secured a large-scale investment from a Taiwanese battery company on the 12th. Earlier, Taiwan's ProLogium announced plans to build a 5.2 billion euro battery factory in Dunkirk, a northern French port city. Once battery production begins in 2026, 3,000 jobs will be created, and including indirect employment, the total job creation is expected to reach about 12,000.

Macron's Determination: "Corporate Taxes Must Be Lowered Further"

Through such foreign investment attraction, there is an assessment that President Macron could reverse the cold public opinion caused by the recent forced pension reform and create an opportunity for a turnaround. Bloomberg described, "Attracting foreign capital is the trademark of Macron's economic policy," adding, "Wounded by the war over pension reform, Macron is seeking to secure momentum for his second term by attracting foreign investment." It is analyzed that he is trying to shift the agenda by emphasizing the economy, his specialty, to secure governance momentum.

In particular, Macron's foreign investment attraction policy, stemming from his experience working in investment banking, is achieving its intended results. According to global consulting firm Ernst & Young, France led with 1,259 investment projects in 2022, surpassing the UK (929 projects) and Germany (832 projects). Before Macron's presidency in 2016, France attracted fewer investments (779 projects) than the UK (1,138 projects) and Germany (1,063 projects), but from 2019 onward, it began to outpace the two countries. Bloomberg noted about Macron's economic policy, "Unemployment has fallen, and the economy has shown resilience through the COVID-19 pandemic and energy crisis."

President Macron also reaffirmed his intention to push for corporate tax cuts to expand corporate investment and job creation. In an interview with the French daily L'Opinion on the 14th, Macron expressed his desire to continue lowering corporate and middle-income tax rates. He emphasized his commitment to corporate tax cuts, saying, "We must continue working on production taxes. We want to establish mechanisms to improve jobs within industry, as well as jobs for artisans and merchants." Previously, despite controversy over tax cuts for the wealthy, Macron gradually reduced the corporate tax rate from 33.3% to 25% after taking office. Since his election in 2017, Macron has implemented business-friendly policies such as corporate tax cuts and labor law flexibilization.

Meanwhile, as the pension fund deficit deepened, President Macron pushed through pension reform at the beginning of the year, increasing the retirement age from the current 62 to 64 despite political burdens. Protests opposing this have continued across France, with clashes involving Molotov cocktails and water cannons.

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