France’s President has big plans. Among other things, he wants to accelerate future technologies. How is he going to do that?
In his own words, French President Emmanuel Macron wants to push ahead with economic policy reforms. Reindustrialization and the development of future technologies should be accelerated and competitiveness increased, Macron said at a reception for industry representatives on Thursday. This should create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the coming years.
Macron announced simplified loans for future technologies, accelerated approval processes for industrial settlements and the provision of developed land for a quick start of new companies. France must be able to compete with the USA. “We don’t want to become consumers of US industry,” said Macron. The state subsidy for the purchase of an electric car should only be paid for models from France and the EU.
“China and the US are faster. We need to change our approach,” Macron said. In the future, all approvals for the start of construction of a new industrial settlement should be guaranteed within nine months – twice as fast as before, said Macron. For projects of national interest, things should go even faster.
France has good prerequisites with a good infrastructure, an efficient administration and a largely CO2-free energy supply. School and vocational training should be further reformed. In terms of competitiveness, France is still behind Germany. The bottom line is that more work has to be done, said Macron – which was a reference to the pension reform he had carried out against fierce resistance.
His reform course with a relief for industry has led to more settlements and less unemployment, said Macron. The attractiveness of France can also be seen in the EY study presented on Thursday, according to which the country was the European leader in foreign settlements and investments for the fourth year in a row.
Speech Macron EY study on foreign settlements
Source: Stern
