Macron asks Musk to ‘choose France’

President Emmanuel Macron met billionaire businessman Elon Musk on Monday as part of efforts to convince global business leaders to invest in France.

The chief executive of Tesla, Space X and Twitter is just one of 200 international business leaders gathered at the “Choose France” event at the Palace of Versailles.

Macron and Musk discussed “significant progress in the electric vehicle and energy sectors” as well as digital regulation, the French leader wrote on Twitter.

Later, Musk promised that Tesla would make “significant investments” in France at some point.

“I am very impressed with President Macron and the French government and how receptive they are to the industry,” Musk said.

What France wants from Musk

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also met with Musk to discuss new tax credits for investments in green technology.

Last week, Macron announced incentives to support innovative industries and the transition to greener technologies, including tax credits in areas such as battery production, electric cars, hydrogen and wind energy, as well as accelerating authorization for industrial projects.

Le Maire did not elaborate on Monday’s talks with Musk, saying simply that “all of today’s investments are the fruit of months or even years of negotiations.”

France had already tried to convince Musk to build a European gigafactory in the country, but he chose Germany for his only European gigafactory.

More than 200 CEOs participate in ‘Choose France’

Some of the other prominent CEOs attending the summit include Sunil Bharti Mittal of Indian conglomerate Bharti Entreprises, ArcelorMittal boss Lakhsmi Mittal and Nokia chief executive Pekka Lundmark.

Conference participants have already pledged to invest €13 billion ($14 billion), the most since Macron held the first annual meeting in 2018.

It was a welcome boost for Macron, whose popularity has suffered from a widely unpopular move to raise France’s retirement age.

lo/jcg (AP, AFP, Reuters)