🇫🇷A record breaking Choose France Summit?
CEOs will gather in Versailles tomorrow for Macron’s €20bn summit as France pushes to lead Europe in innovation, AI, and strategic investment.
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Tomorrow will see the 8th edition of the ‘Choose France’ Summit, where CEOs, industry titans, and senior officials will meet in Versailles to make major pledges towards French research and industry projects, as well as make bets on the positive future and progress that France represents for the international community.
And so far, it seems that the Élysée is setting expectations high: over €20 billion in foreign investment commitments, marking the largest round of pledges since the forum's inception, are expected this coming Monday.
Emmanuel Macron announced to the press, including Ouest France, that there will be “more than fifty” announcements during the event, and that the event “will pass the 20 billion euro mark”. If true, this figure would surpass last year’s €15 billion total, highlighting the success of President Macron’s presidency-long drive to establish France as one of the premier investment targets for international investors.
With around 200 chief executives from a broad spectrum of sectors and geographies expected to attend, and with many travelling to meet with their French counterparts and to build personal relationships with industry leaders, government ministers, and Macron himself.
While some discussions will take place in the lavish halls of Versailles, others will happen on the ground, on the move, and during site visits, such as during Macron’s visit to the Ligny-en-Barrois Daimler Buses’ facility, which is currently transitioning toward electric and hybrid bus production.
According to the Élysée, the summit’s strength lies in its intimacy: “… in the investment decisions that we seek to attract, personal knowledge is very valuable for the bosses,” and benefits from these global investment leaders “being able to spend quality time with the decision-makers, in a magnificent place.”
This year’s edition will include bilateral meetings, industrial visits, and themed roundtables, with a particular focus on two key pillars of the ongoing French drive for Strategic Autonomy: strategic minerals and artificial intelligence.
These are two sectors where Paris is hoping to carve out and develop a sharper competitive edge that will put it ahead of the pack, not only in Europe, but globally. This is, in part, why Macron will not only host private talks with a South Korean business delegation, but a “working dinner” that will close the day’s proceedings.
Since its first iteration, the forum has generated 178 investment announcements, with only “eleven” of those falling through, and this, again, showcases the strength of Emmanuel Macron’s efforts.
This has also led to France continually leading Europe when it comes to the numbers of foreign investments. In 2024 alone, there were 1,025 recorded. However, this should come with caution, with France lagging behind states such as Spain and Germany when it comes to job creation per project (at just 30 on average).
President Macron offered one explanation for this: “We are very strong in research and development, which is less employment intensive … but, behind it, it creates innovation in France.”
Nevertheless, the French President continues to insist on the need for structural reforms to ensure that both France and Europe can keep up with global competitors.
“Accelerating simplifications at national and European level, deepen the single market, have a much more offensive energy policy,” Macron argued, adding that “a much stronger policy to protect our internal market” was essential to success. “This is clearly what poses a problem for us today compared to Asian competitors.”
The scale of this year’s summit, both in terms of pledged investments and political messaging, underlines Macron’s single-minded crusade to ensure that France is a central hub for international capital within Europe. At the same time, the disparity between the number of announced projects and the relatively low job creation points to a familiar challenge that has dogged France long-term.
While France is clearly attracting high-value innovation and research-led investment, Macron’s emphasis on regulatory reform and a firmer approach to defending the European market will be a reminder to French partners of the ultimate goal of these summits: strengthening long-term Franco-European competitiveness and becoming a dominant force.
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