Semiconductors: a 5.7 billion euro project crowns the “Choose France” summit

The headquarters of STMicroelectronics in Paris, October 9, 2017 ( AFP / ERIC PIERMONT ) A flagship investment in semiconductors and 180 foreign bosses invited: President Emmanuel Macron and the government are holding the fifth “Choose France” summit on Monday at the Palace of Versailles “, the opportunity to praise the attractiveness of France. The day began with the announcement of the investment of 5.7 billion euros by the Franco-Italian STMicroelectronics and the American GlobalFoundries to build a semiconductor factory in Crolles, near Grenoble. “This is the biggest industrial investment in recent decades, excluding nuclear, and a big step for our industrial sovereignty: it’s 1,000 jobs at stake”, commented the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, on Twitter. He also welcomed a “reason for confidence in our ability to regain our industrial positions”, during a press briefing in Versailles. These announcements come in a tense climate, after revelations Sunday evening by the newspaper Le Monde of the links which united Emmanuel Macron, then Minister of the Economy (2014-2016), and the company Uber. Based on various testimonies and documents, these “Uber Files” conclude that there is a secret “deal”, aimed at helping the platform to consolidate its positions in France, which has been strongly denounced by elected officials. opposition. The industrial investment projects presented Monday afternoon in Versailles (6.7 billion euros of investment, “more than 4,000 jobs created”), come at the right time for the government, pressed by the inflation which weighs on the purchasing power. The future semiconductor factory is part of the “Chips Act”, the European Union’s program to regain a place alongside Asia and America in the world’s production of semiconductors, following the Covid-19 crisis. The first productions, made possible by “significant financial support from the French state”, according to the two groups, should be launched from the end of 2023, with a ramp-up until 2025-2026, according to the Élysée. . About 58% of the production will be for GlobalFoundries, with the rest for STMicroelectronics, the two companies said. “This is an announcement that is key for France”, rejoiced the CEO of STMicroelectronics Jean-Marc Chery, in front of the press in Versailles, saying he hoped that it paved the way for “other types of investments of this type in the country”. French President Emmanuel Macron during a video conference at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, for the opening of the previous “Choose France” summit, January 25, 2021 (POOL / Ludovic MARIN) Mr Macron will go there on Tuesday to present this factory project, which will eventually be “the largest French chip production site and one of the largest in Europe”. – Attractiveness – For the Élysée, the record participation of foreign business leaders in “Choose France” – there were 120 to 130 in previous editions – shows “very strong interest from foreign bosses, following the re-election of the President”. During the lunch marking the start of the summit, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire assured them that for the next five years the executive will continue “to lower production taxes, improve the skills of our labor -work and reduce administrative formalities for the installation of new industrial sites”, according to the text of his speech sent to AFP. The leaders of Coca-Cola, Disney, Siemens, American banks Citi, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, the Chinese conglomerate Fosun or the Australian financial services group Macquarie will find themselves under the gold of Versailles. Emmanuel Macron also met with major sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf, but also from South Korea or Canada. “It’s a unique opportunity to speak (…) to many major players and not only in France, but at the international level”, rejoiced Luigi Corradi, CEO of the railway company Trenitalia, who comes from enter the French market. “It’s incredible to see that so many companies are investing in France, it means that probably we weren’t wrong” to do it too, he added to AFP, welcoming the “good collaboration” with the French government. FedEx will create 1,000 permanent jobs in Roissy, near Paris ( GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / MARIO TAMA ) Among the other projects announced as part of “Choose France”, the express parcel specialist FedEx will create 1,000 jobs in Roissy (Val- d’Oise), the consulting firm Accenture 500 in Brittany and the Vietnamese Vinfast (automotive) 350 to 400 in “showrooms” and workshops, according to the Elysée. The British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will invest in clinical trials and the German Vorwerk will set up a second Thermomix plant in Eure-et-Loir. France is proud to be the most attractive country in Europe for foreign investors by the number of projects – 1,222 in 2021 -, their size being on the other hand generally smaller, according to the barometer of the firm EY. Nearly 80 investment projects, representing 12 billion euros and 21,000 jobs, have been announced as part of the “Choose France” summits since 2018: 25 have been completed, 50 are in progress and five have been abandoned or postponed.