Managing Director Europe of Packard Bell then of Apple (2000-2012), Pascal Cagni set up a venture capital fund in 2014, C4 Ventures, which has supported more than 50 start-ups, 9 of which have reached the unicorn stage – more than a billion dollars in valuation. In 2017, he returned to France to take on, on a voluntary basis, the non-executive presidency of the Business France agency. Appointed by Emmanuel Macron as ambassador for international investments in order to ensure the promotion of France, he speaks here – with passion – as an entrepreneur.
The Express: The silence of business leaders has been quite deafening since the announcement of the dissolution and the possible victory of the RN in the next legislative elections. How do you explain it?
Pascal Cagni : It is absolutely shameful that all the players who, for seven years, have benefited from a pro-business environment which has allowed them to invest in France and create jobs do not dare to say that we are heading towards disaster! We can blame Emmanuel Macron for all the blame, but it is still he who crystallized this extremely promising context for the country. The reactions are finally starting to arrive, that’s fortunate, perhaps the political time for “clarification” was needed to see the costing and the inconsistency of the programs.
I spent seven years of my life explaining to many of the bosses present at the Choose France summits why France was the ideal host country for their projects. I saw in the eyes of these leaders how much the image of the country had changed. I am very pleased to see that public speaking engagements are finally raising the issues. But business leaders must also go see their employees to tell them: “You voted, it’s your right. But you know that on an economic level, it’s no longer going to be the same thing.”
The 56 projects of the last Choose France were won by forceps. They will undoubtedly be challenged tomorrow. We need to wake up now to get the message across. And even if it means failing, at least try. For several days, I’ve spent my time calling bosses and telling them: “Go ahead, get out of the woods!”. I also called the French in sovereign funds abroad who have just opened offices in Paris, or who plan to invest here. There are 17,500 international companies in France, or less than 1% of the total. But it’s 16% of GDP, 20% of R&D and 30% of exports! One in six euros produced in this country is the result of foreign companies.
What worries you so much about the attractiveness of France in the program of the National Rally ?
There is now consensus on several action themes. We must reindustrialize by fighting against the desertification of territories – 49% of foreign investment projects are carried out in towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. There is a fierce war for talent. We must catch the wave of artificial intelligence. And we cannot, for future generations, not participate in the ecological transition. One in five R&D centers in Europe sets up in France, thanks in particular to the research tax credit: it is one of the few relevant tax incentives because it has existed for twenty years. This is also stability.
If we do not continue the dynamic initiated on each of these subjects, international companies, tomorrow, will come less to France or will no longer come. When the boss of Swedish Scania meets Emmanuel Macron or Bruno Le Maire, whatever anyone says, it contributes to his choice to invest in Anjou, because he recognizes the commitment at the most senior level and notes a form of stability in French economic policy.
It is easier today, as a foreigner, to come and live in France. I was working in London in 2012, during the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee. I saw this rare moment when a country attracts people from all over the world. I easily hired talent from New York or San Francisco because the United Kingdom, at that time, was attractive! For several years, it is France which has benefited from this force of attraction. And there, we are told about “national preference for French companies”. But what are we going to say, tomorrow, to the 130,000 French companies that export, in defense, automobiles, aeronautics, space, business services… All of this is calls for offers they win abroad. What are we going to do ? Close the borders?
For the ecological transition, it’s the same problem. It takes 110 to 120 billion euros each year to finance it, with a deficit, post-Covid, of 5.5% of GDP in 2023. How to do it then? We have found no other solution than to go see sovereign funds or large capital platforms like BlackRock, Apollo or KKR and convince them: “Discover our assets, you can invest with us”. When Novo Nordisk, the largest market capitalization in Europe, leaves Denmark, where does it go? In France. And when the German Vorwerk decides to invest, it also does so with us.
Since the beginnings of Choose France in 2018, 60 billion euros of investment have arrived in France, to finance 140 projects. In the event of victory for the RN or the New Popular Front, the windfall of foreign investments which served completely consensual objectives in the country will inevitably dry up. I hear people say: “the RN, we haven’t tried”. But we can no longer afford to pay to try!
Dozens of French tech entrepreneurs signed a platform, under the aegis of the France Digitale association, ensuring that “to win, France must innovate. Not turn in on itself.” Is the “start-up nation”, desired by Emmanuel Macron, in danger of disappearing?
The hero of modern times has become the entrepreneur, and this is to be welcomed. The “start-up nation” is well established. But it now needs exits, takeovers by large groups. What is clear is that the founders of these start-ups will think twice whether to stay in France or go elsewhere. THE brain drain, the brain drain, from which we have suffered for a long time, risks starting again tomorrow. I urge them to come forward in the remaining ten days and not to give in to the easy way, having a short memory… When I see candidates from the presidential majority who are currently “demacronizing” their posters, I am sad.