Macron invites Musk and investors to ‘Choose France’.

France Poised to Win Record Foreign Investment Pledges at Choose France Summit

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to receive global business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, at the annual Choose France summit in Versailles. The summit is a chance for Macron to justify his pro-business reform drive and shift attention to his promotion of lower carbon industry, such as electric vehicles. Executives attending the event have already made commitments to invest a combined 13 billion euros, the most since Macron first held the summit in 2018.

Elon Musk Meets with Macron

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk met with Macron at his official residence, the Elysee Palace. Over lunch at Versailles, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire pitched to Musk new tax credits for investments in green technology that Macron made public last week. France previously tried to convince Musk to build a European gigafactory in the country, but he chose Germany, his only European gigafactory so far.

France Competes on Global Stage for Investment in Green Technology

Macron is competing on a global stage for investment in green technology when the United States has become a magnet following the introduction of its Inflation Reduction Act. To counter that, Macron said last week France’s existing cash incentive of up to 5,000 euros for buyers of new electric cars would be made conditional on their producers meeting tough low-carbon standards, effectively excluding cars made outside Europe.

Record Investment Projects Expected

France expects a total of 28 investment projects from companies ranging from U.S. pharmaceutical group Pfizer to Swedish furniture maker IKEA and investment bank Morgan Stanley. In total, the projects are expected to create 8,000 jobs. The single biggest investment is a 5.2 billion euro project from a Taiwanese car battery maker in the northern port city of Dunkirk, which Macron announced on Friday. It is followed by a 1.5 billion euro battery components plant also in Dunkirk in a joint venture between Chinese group XTC and French firm Orano.

• IKEA has plans to invest 906 million euros by 2026
• Pfizer has budgeted 500 million euros to expand in France over the same period
• British rival GSK with 400 million euros
• Morgan Stanley is expected to announce the creation of 200 new banking jobs in Paris

France is poised to win record foreign investment pledges at the Choose France summit, with commitments already totaling 13 billion euros. The summit is a chance for President Emmanuel Macron to promote his pro-business reform drive and shift attention to his promotion of lower carbon industry. Executives attending the event have already made commitments to invest a combined 13 billion euros, the most since Macron first held the summit in 2018. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk met with Macron at his official residence, the Elysee Palace, and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire pitched to Musk new tax credits for investments in green technology. France expects a total of 28 investment projects from companies ranging from U.S. pharmaceutical group Pfizer to Swedish furniture maker IKEA and investment bank Morgan Stanley. In total, the projects are expected to create 8,000 jobs.