Macron 'completely changed' France's image, says tech billionaire

President Emmanuel Macron has "completely changed" France's image, telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel said Wednesday, crediting the youthful, pro-business politician with attracting an influx of tech talent.

"He has given France a pro-startup, pro-entrepreneur image abroad that we did not really have before," said Niel, who bankrolled a giant startup incubator on the banks of the Seine river in Paris that opened a month after Macron's election last year.

Speaking to a group of foreign correspondents at Station F -- the world's biggest incubator which is nourishing 1,000 startups -- Niel praised Macron's reform of the labour code and of wealth and investment taxes.

But his most important achievement to date has been to change France's image as being a place that is unfriendly to business, said 50-year-old Niel, a serial entrepreneur nicknamed the "French Steve Jobs".

"France has not changed... What really changed is the fact of having a young, dynamic president, who is not from any political party," he said.

On Wednesday, Macron took his pledge of a French renaissance to the world's business elite gathered in the Swiss resort of Davos.

"France is back at the core of Europe," said the 40-year-old former investment banker, who has been hailed as a potential saviour of a liberal post-war order under threat from Donald Trump's America and Britain's decision to leave the EU.

- Trump, Brexit boost -

Niel, vice-president of Iliad which owns France's second-biggest mobile phone operator, said Trump's nativist policies and climate change denialism had contributed to France's growing appeal as a place to start a business.

"England maybe does not appear very stable under Theresa May, Germany doesn't maybe seem much fun with a leader who is starting to get on in years and the United States under Donald Trump doesn't seem very welcoming to strangers," he said. "In the midst of all that, we're doing quite nicely."

Station F manager Roxanne Varza said the incubator, which Niel paid for with 250 million euros of his own money, received more applications from US and UK start-ups last year than any other country.

Niel singled out Macron's introduction of a flat tax rate of 30 percent on capital gains and dividends as one of the most significant reforms for companies looking to invest in new technology companies.

But much of what is drawing tech firms to Paris predates Macron.

It was Macron's predecessor Francois Hollande who set up new visas for digital entrepreneurs.

In its 2017 State of European Tech report the investment firm Atomico noted that Britain remained the biggest recipient of venture capital funding at $5.4 billion (4.4 billion euros) -- more than double that of France.

But it was France that closed the most deals.

cb/jta

ILIAD

Tech faithful gather to worship at mecca of innovation
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 8, 2018
After a rollercoaster year for the tech world, many industry leaders are looking to the cutting edge for salvation. As tech industry players converge in Las Vegas for the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, an overriding theme is that gizmos, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and superfast internet connections hold answers to many if not all ills - the new religion. One of the world' ... read more

Related Links
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal