Source: Could Macron and Brexit make Paris Europe’s tech capital?
FRANCE 24
Could Macron and Brexit make France Europe’s tech capital? đ«đ·
Date created :Â Latest update :Â
Shortly after his election in May 2017, President Macron said he wanted France itself âto think and move like a start-upâ â a vision of the countryâs digital future that is gaining traction as Britain wrestles with Brexit.
French President Emmanuel Macronâs vow to make France a âstart-up nationâ amid the uncertainty over Brexitis raising the question of whether Paris could supplant London as the capital of European tech.
Since his election, Macron has wooed tech entrepreneurs with a string of initiatives in the form of lavish tax breaks, subsidies, and credits for research. In March 2018, he promised to invest âŹ1.5 billion into artificial intelligence research through 2022.
Some of these initiatives, in addition to Macronâs dynamism, have lured British tech companies who are looking to gain a foothold in Europe.
âIt made sense to have a European base,â said Cedric Jones*, a Briton who recently launched a start-up at Station F, the cavernous old train station that is now home to the worldâs largest start-up campus. âIf Iâm going to make waves in continental Europe⊠I wanted to get here before Brexit happened.â
Jones is among dozens of foreign entrepreneurs who have recently launched their start-up at Station F, whose 3,000 desk hub has seen spiraling applications from English-speaking nationals in the last two years.
Some cite political woes back home, the burgeoning French tech sector, or are inspired by Macronâs bid to make Paris the innovation heart of Europe.
âThereâs an air of optimism and a can-do spirit in France that I feel weâve lost somewhat in the US,â said Mark Heath, a New Yorker, who stayed on in France to launch a start-up after studying at INSEAD in 2017.
The Macron effect
Much of the investment in French tech predates Macronâs reforms. The state investment bank Bpifrance, launched by former French president François Hollande in 2013, has been widely credited with developing the sector. Hollande also set up new foreign visas for start-up entrepreneurs.
But Zahir Bouchaary, a Briton who works out of Station F, credits Macron with injecting dynamism into the sector.
âMacron has installed a [start-up] mentality within the French ecosystem itself,â said Bouchaary, adding that it has become much easier to do business in France in the last few years.
âFrench customers are a lot more willing to work with start-ups than they were before,â said Bouchaary. âFrance was a very conservative country and our clients were used to working with big old-fashioned companies that have been around for a while. For the past few years, theyâve opened up a lot more to working with younger companies and seem to take more risks than they did before.â
Jones agreed that Macron was âthe single variableâ. âWhen he [Macron] goes, the dynamism will go too. I absolutely would not expect that to remain the case if heâs not the president.â
However, although Macron has moved to ease labour laws, Jones said that navigating the countryâs labyrinthine bureaucracy in French remained âvery burdensomeâ, and that it was far easier to build a business in the UK. âWhether itâs from a tax perspective or from a legal perspective itâs just so much more complicated.â
UK tech ‘resilient’
The tech scene in London appears to be just as vibrant as ever, explained Albin Serviant, president of Frenchtech in London, who said many UK-based tech entrepreneurs are adopting a âwait and seeâ approach to Brexit.
âThe UK ecosystem is quite resilient,â said Serviant.
âIn the first quarter of 2019, there were about âŹ2 billion invested in tech in London. Thatâs compared to 1.5 billion last year, which is plus 30 percent. And thatâs twice as much as France â which invested 1 billion. France is catching up very fast but the investment money is still flowing in the UK,â he added.
Serviant cited Londonâs business-friendly ecosystem and international talent pool as reasons for why London remains the capital of the European tech sector. Barcelona and Berlin are also contenders for the UK’s tech start-up crown.
Nonetheless, Serviant cautioned against the effects that a hard Brexit would have on the tech sector in the UK.
ââIf Brexit happens in a bad way and if people like me and other entrepreneurs have to leave, obviously thatâs very bad for the UK because what makes it very different is the international DNA of London.â
Hard Brexit would not just damage the UK tech sector but would also pose challenges for British developers, who post-Brexit may need a carte de séjour to work in the country, looking to find work in France.
Sarah Pedroza, co-managing director of Hello Tomorrow technologies, a Paris-based startup NGO, said that if she had to choose between hiring a British national and an EU citizen with the same skillset, she would opt for an EU citizen because there would be less paperwork involved.
Brexit aside, others suggest that France is snapping at the UKâs technological heels.
âI do think France has the potential under Macron to close the gap with the UK,â said Jones.
âThe single biggest factor in whatâs going on for France is that France is developing a sense of confidence in itself, in its start-up scene, as a tech hub, thatâs being helped by France and thatâs also being helped by Brexit.â
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