The 8th Choose France Summit expects a record 20 billion euros in investments

The 8th Choose France Summit , a prestigious economic event in Versailles designed to attract foreign investment, is expected to set a new record this year with €20 billion in announcements, Emmanuel Macron revealed on Friday.

There will be "more than fifty" project disclosures, "and we will pass the twenty billion euro mark," the French president declared in an interview with the regional press. This would break last year's record of 15 billion euros. The announcements are expected to concern sectors as diverse as technology, finance, and tourism.

France has just been ranked the leading European country for foreign investment for the sixth consecutive year by EY, with 1,025 projects registered in 2024, ahead of the United Kingdom (853) and Germany (608). In these three countries, however, the number of projects has declined in one year, by 14% for France.

Furthermore, it only ranks third in terms of the number of jobs created per project (30), behind Germany (48) and Spain (125). "We are very strong in terms of research and development, which is less job-intensive," Emmanuel Macron emphasizes in the interview.

However, "behind this, this creates innovation in France," a "key" sector, the president explains. France has already recorded €109 billion in private investment, particularly from abroad, by 2031, during a summit on artificial intelligence in February.

Two hundred CEOs (BYD, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Ikea, BASF, Gulf sovereign wealth funds, etc.) have confirmed their participation in Choose France, 19% of which come from the United States. Since 2017, 178 projects, totaling €47 billion, have been announced—only "eleven" of which have been abandoned, according to Emmanuel Macron.

This year's theme is "France, Land of Creativity," with two new segments, one on tourism and the other on audiovisual. After taking place for a long time in January, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Choose France has been held at the Palace of Versailles every May since 2022.

The French presidency explains that "in the investment decisions we seek to attract, personal knowledge is of great value to business leaders," who appreciate "being able to spend quality time with decision-makers in a magnificent setting." Last year, more than 345 meetings took place between business leaders and French authorities.

Emmanuel Macron is at the center of the summit, with four trips related to it. On Monday morning, he will visit the Daimler Buses factory in Ligny-en-Barrois, in the Meuse region, where production is currently shifting toward hybrid and electric buses.

In Versailles, he will meet with South Korean business leaders and participate in two small roundtable discussions on strategic minerals and artificial intelligence, before chairing the final "working dinner."

He will meet in person with Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim, Stella Li, president of Chinese automaker BYD, and the head of Saudi company Qiddiya. "Being number one (in Europe) (...) is truly the result of all the policies implemented since 2017" for businesses, boasts the Élysée.

The strategy consultancy Kearney, for its part, only ranks France third in terms of attractiveness in Europe, behind the United Kingdom and Germany, and seventh in the world (down one place this year).

He considers it "impacted by the accelerated deterioration of its budgetary trajectory" and by "a political situation with precarious balances since the dissolution" decided in June by Emmanuel Macron. He points out above all that, for the 13th consecutive year, the United States is at the top of the ranking.

However, the firm notes, "faced with a macroeconomic situation deemed very unstable" and even more so since Donald Trump's announcements of increases in American customs duties, "Europe appears to be a fragile, but possible island of stability."

Thus, 60% of senior executives worldwide surveyed by the Kearney firm see it as their first investment choice, a hope for the continent and for France.