France's Sun King courts business chiefs at 'mini Davos'

January 19, 2018

Not content with sharing the Davos limelight with other world leaders next week, Emmanuel Macron is holding his own private gathering just hours before the global elite descend on the Swiss Alps.

The French president will host 140 chief executives of top companies, including Facebook, Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs, not at some soulless conference centre but at the Palace of Versailles.

The half-day meeting on Monday, on the eve of the Davos economic forum, is intended to promote France as an investment destination and explain the French president’s pro-business reforms. It is also a demonstration of Mr Macron’s pulling power: the former investment banker turned modernising politician is the western leader business chief executives seem keenest to meet.

Mr Macron is rolling out half his government for the occasion. Edouard Philippe, the prime minister, will give a welcoming speech during a lunch concocted by chef Alain Ducasse, before a dozen ministers exchange with the bosses in one-on-one meetings.

The press-free “summit” will reach its climax with Mr Macron’s appearance at an “intimate and transparent” dinner reception, according to the Elysée. The president will then hold bilateral meetings with a happy few, before they fly to Davos, where Mr Macron will give a keynote speech on Wednesday.

The Versailles gathering, under the slogan “Choose France,” underscores Mr Macron’s push for foreign investment as he strives to boost growth and curb higher than EU average unemployment of more than 9 per cent of the workforce.

Guests include James Quincey of Coca-Cola, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs © FT montage

The mini-Davos is a potent illustration of the French president’s method, mixing an art for milking his popularity abroad, ceremonial diplomacy and dealmaking.

By any conference-organising standards, this was a last-minute affair. Invitations to about 100 corporate leaders were sent only at the beginning of December.

“22 January 2019?” one incredulous chief executive asked an aide when contacted over the event.

Chief executives were given a deadline to apply and were asked to enter their wishes for ministerial meetings through an online platform. They were also set a condition for attending: bring a plan to invest in France.

Until late this week, some of the most prominent chief executives were still in the dark on which ministers they would get to meet. Apparently, they were undeterred. The president’s office was quickly overwhelmed by requests from companies left off the initial guest list.

“They’ve all come to see the president; there’s huge curiosity,” said an Elysée aide.

Among the guests will be Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, courted by French authorities ahead of the UK’s departure from the EU, will meet Bruno Le Maire, the finance minister.

Coca-Cola’s James Quincey, Lakshmi Mittal as well as the chief executives of Bain and Company, Siemens, Rolls-Royce, UPS, GSK, General Mills or Merck will also be there, bringing investment pledges worth several billions of euros in total, the Elysée said.

There will be prominent absentees, including Pepsi-Cola, which was thwarted by French authorities from bidding for Danone in 2005, and General Electric, which has threatened to shed jobs from some of its plants in France.

The flurry of investment projects will also help address impatience at home, where questions are mounting over when Mr Macron’s contentious reform of the labour market will start to pay off. While business confidence is on the rise and growth is picking up to reach nearly 2 per cent in 2017, France’s share in exports from the eurozone has continued to shrink to 12.9 per cent last year, from 13.2 per cent in 2016, according to COE-Rexecode, an economic think-tank. The share was 17 per cent in 2000.

“We are conscious this is taking time,” an Elysée official said. “The goal of this conference is not just to explain the reforms to an international audience. It’s also meant to show the French people our policies are delivering concrete results.”

The picture caption in this article has been amended to correct the title of Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs.

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