This is a categorical answer to say the least. Questioned by Bloomberg this Monday, May 13, on the sidelines of Choose France summitin Versailles, the President of the Republic in turn opposed the idea of a main listing of TotalEnergies in New York.
Asked whether this prospect would suit him, the Head of State responded unambiguously: “Not at all. I would be very surprised. I am waiting for confirmation, I understood that these were rumours.” he said during an interview with the channel Bloomberg.
The affair started from surprise statements by the group’s boss, Patrick Pouyanné, also to Bloomberg. In an interview published on April 26, the CEO said he was considering a primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. “It’s not a question of emotion. It’s a question of business,” added the company director, while ensuring that the head office of this flagship of the CAC 40 would remain in Paris.
Its main argument: “a growing American shareholder base”, which leads the company to question how to “provide easier access to shares for American investors”, he explained. Faced with this reflection, the Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire had already said at the beginning of May that he intended to fight so that this move from the Paris Stock Exchange “does not take place”.
Need for a “real European internal market”
Emmanuel Macron also spoke on Monday about the “need for a true internal market” in Europe. “Energy, finance or telecommunications are key sectors where the single market does not exist, which was a choice from the very beginning,” he observed, still speaking to the channel Bloombergbelieving that a “single market approach” would be “much more effective”.
Asked about the possible scenario of a takeover of a French bank by a European counterpart, Emmanuel Macron replied: “that is part of the market, but acting as Europeans means needing consolidation as Europeans”. “Only by protecting its interests more intelligently, easing regulations within the single market and strengthening the EU’s financial firepower will it stand a chance of competing with China and other states. “United,” he said.
Accompanied by his collaborators, Emmanuel Macron “paints a dark portrait of Europe”, in the event of non-implementation of his proposals to renew the EU economic model, comments Bloomberg. The French president pointing to industrial decline, falling productivity and crushing public debts, weighed down by the weight of a vast welfare state and an aging population.
But this European banking union, including common deposit insurance, is still lacking. Germany and others are putting the brakes on, arguing that their savers should not be held responsible for losses suffered by banks in other countries, Bloomberg recalls.