The subject was almost absent from the legislative debates. A look at the programs shows the little space given to technology and innovation, particularly from the two blocs that came out on top in the first round, the National Rally (RN) and the New Popular Front (NFP). The “start-up nation” supported under Emmanuel Macron by numerous economic measures has nevertheless understood that its future is darkening. The France Digitale lobby was moved by the RN’s anti-immigration speeches, which risked killing any attractiveness of foreign talent, which is nevertheless essential for innovation in France. Others deplored the taxation desired by the NFP, which could ultimately scare away investors, so precious for start-ups in order to change scale.
In addition to the indirect consequences of their policies, there is, within the RN as well as within the NFP, a clear desire to reverse this “Macronian” marker par excellence that is the “start-up nation”. Change its software. “When we see money invested in online marketplaces that sell eco-responsible macramé…”, recently mocked RN MP Aurélien Lopez Liguori, on the airwaves of Sud Radio, attacking (with a clear dose of exaggeration) the futility of certain French tech companies, and their low profitability. A criticism that is not new. Just like the wish, shared on the left as well as the far right, to put industry back at the heart of the strategy. “French Tech” is traditionally rather software that hardware.
Thomas Fauré, founder of Whaller, close to conservative circles, deplores the purely “financial” approach of the “start-up nation”, modeled “on an American model of hyper-valuation”. However, this has its limits. When they no longer find funds, “our nuggets end up leaving”, he explains to L’Express. “If it is to support start-ups bought out afterwards by Americans, what is the point?”, agrees PS senator Rémi Cardon, from the opposite side of the political spectrum.
These findings are, on the one hand, debatable. And above all, the solutions that these parties propose in this area have a taste of déjà vu. Boosting “public procurement”, as Aurélien Lopez Liguori or Thomas Fauré urge? This is already the case, through multiple European and French initiatives, such as “I choose French Tech” launched in 2023. The question also deserves a fair bit of tact. Developing more “sovereign funds”? Europe is also working on the subject. Directing investments towards strategic sectors, sometimes more industrial? This is the current mission of the France 2030 plan. Betting everything on the artificial intelligence revolution? France has one of the most coveted nuggets in the world, Mistral, valued at around 6 billion euros in record time, never seen before in seven years of “start-up nation”. Be careful, therefore, not to bury the latter too quickly. It is probably only just bearing its first fruits.