This is in a way another round of competition between European financial centers triggered by Brexit to attract investors and capital. French deputies begin, Tuesday April 2, the examination of a bill, which aims to “credit businesses and increase the attractiveness of France”.
Presented by Alexandre Holroyd, deputy of the Renaissance for the French people established outside France, the text in fourteen articles intends to strengthen the arsenal of measures deployed since 2017 with a view to attracting financial players to France, at the same time, principal, jobs and investment.
Labor market reforms and the introduction of a single tax levy, among other measures, have already borne fruit in recent years with the transfer of part of the markets activities of several major American banks from London to Paris. In total, the movement created nearly 7,000 direct jobs and spurred the growth of financial services exports, from 5 billion euros in 2016 to 12 billion in 2023.
Now claiming the title of leading financial center in the euro zone, Paris is keen to change this experiment. Not only to maintain the gap with London, but to continue to attract the highest capital inflows. because “We will not be able to finance the ecological transition and digitalization with public money alone. The state has a role to play, but it is above all private savings that must be mobilized.”We explain to the Ministry of Economy, which has “co-created” Text with Mr. Holroyd.
The stated objective is specifically to attract private equity funds, Hedge funds (hedge funds), asset managers and also cryptoasset market participants. The approach claimed by the Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, who went to New York in December 2023, to meet the players of these businesses, and who plans to repeat the exercise in several countries from the Gulf in the coming months. .
Exemption from “one share, one vote” principle
However, a key measure of the bill aims to prevent French unicorns from choosing a foreign financial center when they decide to enter the stock market. The text actually provides for these companies to be authorized to acquire shares with multiple voting rights, thus deviating from the “one share, one vote” principle enshrined in the Commercial Code. A method already authorized under conditions in London and Amsterdam, but especially on Wall Street, and which allows the founders of these companies to use the capital they need to finance their growth without ceding control.
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