But what fly bit Bruno Le Maire on March 18? Guest of TF1’s 20 Hours, the Minister of the Economy came to provide after-sales service, after the government corrected its growth forecast to 1%. A return to reality which forced him to present a savings plan of 10 billion euros. Among the measures taken, Bruno Le Maire pointed the finger at state operators, these 438 agencies invested with a public service mission, whose credits will be reduced by a billion euros.
Pressed to say more, the Minister of the Economy then cited pell-mell the National Center for Space Studies, the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion, France Compétences… and Business France. However, the orders of magnitude have nothing to do with it. The space agency benefited in 2023 from a subsidy of more than 640 million euros and the institution responsible for professional training and apprenticeship from 1.6 billion euros, when Business France barely received 110 million euros. “I found that a little curious. I don’t know why this name came out. Bruno Le Maire was able to see it himself and has often said it: its effectiveness is largely there”, notes one of its former leaders.
Few means, but results
The action of this state operator is relatively unknown to the French. Born in 2015 from the merger of the French Agency for the International Development of Businesses Ubifrance and the French Agency for International Investments, Business France’s mission is to support companies in their export and establishment projects in internationally, to promote the attractiveness of France and to manage international corporate volunteering (VIE). Its budget is divided equally between state subsidies and services sold to businesses.
“Business France is the typical model of the state operator with few public resources which creates a lot of activities in the country. It is probably one of the best levers of public spending to generate growth”, defends Laurent Saint-Martin, former general budget rapporteur and general director of the organization since 2023. A position that the former LREM deputy assumes with talent, according to several interlocutors. “He is efficient and runs Business France as if it were his own company,” says Sophie Sidos-Vicat, president of the French Foreign Trade Advisors, who sits on the board of directors. “It’s a well-managed agency, I can assure you,” says Senator LR Alain Chatillon, a member of the management body for more than ten years.
If the French trade balance remains in the red, the Business France effect has still been felt: the number of exporting companies increased from 125,000 in 2017 to 144,000 in 2023. They generated 3.3 billion euros in turnover in 2023, compared to 1.8 billion euros in 2022. “It’s a system that works. We must not cut when there are results. What’s more, the savings that “we can expect from Business France to be minimal”, estimates Alain Di Crescenzo, president of CCI France, the network of chambers of commerce and industry.
No “Business France problem”
The government’s reprimand comes, moreover, a little late. Last October, Business France signed its new contract of objectives and resources with the State for the period 2023-2026. “It is at this moment that the public authorities must ask themselves the question of reviewing expenditures, not afterwards”, scathes the deputy LR Véronique Louwagie, vice-president of the finance committee of the Assembly. “I understand very well the government’s need for budgetary seriousness. It is indeed necessary that beyond the amounts, the collective intelligence which prevailed in the signing of this contract remains”, specifies, very diplomatically, Laurent Saint-Martin.
So, how to interpret Bruno Le Maire’s position? Business France is under the supervision of three ministries: Economy, Regional Planning and Foreign Affairs. “The minister is sending a message to his other colleagues, inviting them to also tighten their belts,” judges a former chief of staff, who has never heard of a “Business France problem”. There are obviously other things to worry about.
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