Mbappe joins French tech in fearing decline ahead of political uncertainty

The four-week National Assembly political campaign has been dominated by fears caused by immigration and insecurity

A poster showing French President Emmanuel Macron and French member of Parliament for far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party Marine Le Pen, and right, Kylian Mbappe who has described the RN's lead in the first round of the elections as "catastrophic.". EPA / Getty ImagesShow less

In France, President Emmanuel Macron's demise in the snap elections is watched with growing anxiety by the tech sector, which fears losing its champion and a decline of the industry's attractiveness.

Sitting in a Paris cafe, Olivier Martret, a 34-year-old investment director, speaks glumly of a high-profile foreign applicant who last week paused his recruitment process that involved moving to France, citing "political instability".

In the second round of the elections on Sunday, the far right, or Rassemblement National (RN) which is hostile to Mr Macron, is expected to either win an absolute majority or more likely become the biggest bloc in Parliament. Its arch-rivals on the left are set to come second, ahead of the president's allies.

Few know how France, where there has been no broad coalition government in recent history, will be governed, although everyone agrees the next weeks will probably be chaotic.

We cannot let our country fall into the hands of these people.

Kylian Mbappe,
France captain

This state of play is a far cry from the absolute majority won by Mr Macron's group in the 2017 parliamentary elections, two months after the 39-year-old former banker was first elected France's youngest president.

The fresh-faced politician won the hearts of entrepreneurs as he vowed to make France a "start-up nation".

Many say he delivered on that promise as he boosted its development and launched an investment plan of more than $50bn named France 2030. Since 2013, the market has increased roughly ten fold to €15 billion a year.

A much-needed embodiment

"The tech sector would have never reached this level with someone else in power," said Mr Martret, from Serena Capital.

"It's like in a company: you need someone who can embody change to lead it," Mr Martret told The National, speaking from the historic business quarter of the capital's ninth arrondissement.

French President Emmanuel Macron, centre, holds a device at the Viva technology event dedicated to start-ups, innovation and digital technology in Paris on June 15, 2017. AFP

The list of these new French "tech champions" is long, adds Mr Martret, and includes a number of AI companies such as Mistral AI and H company that have raised close to €2 billion in less than three years - a record figure in Europe despite the continent remaining outpaced in the AI race by the US.

But today, France appears to be closing down on itself. Fear has taken over the country and became the dominant theme of a violent, albeit short, political campaign, both in words and in action.

All that is non-French has been especially targeted by the RN, which caused shock when it said dual nationals were less trustworthy than French citizens in certain jobs in a country deeply attached to egalitarian principles.

At least 51 candidates and their supporters were physically harmed at the end of a tense four weeks since Mr Macron's shock decision to dissolve the National Assembly.

Although the RN has abandoned talk of a "Frexit", some of its campaign promises that are overseen by EU texts, including reducing VAT on fuel, renegotiating energy prices and an outright cut in France's contributions to the EU budget, are expected to be coldly received in Brussels.

National superstars like footballer Kylian Mbappé have added to the doom and gloom by describing the RN's lead in the first round of the elections as "catastrophic".

Mbappe is preparing for a Euro 2024 quarter-final against Portugal on Friday but was asked whether he had a message for his home nation.

“It is an urgent juncture. We cannot let our country fall into the hands of these people. It is pressing — we saw the results, it is catastrophic,” he told a press conference in Hamburg. “I think now, more than ever, you need to get (out to vote).

France must continue 'shining'

In parallel, pledges made by the left-wing coalition, which regularly disparages Mr Macron as the "president of the rich," to change the tax system has also caused worry among investors.

Many among them feel that state funds to the tech sector may dry up in the coming months and years and that France's reputation abroad will suffer.

"We need a government that fights for European champions, not local ones," said Mr Martret. "Unlike the US and China which have enormous local markets, we are highly dependent on our ability to export to grow."

Mr Martret's concerns have been echoed across the board, said Alexandre Labarriere, communications director at France Digitale, an association of 2,000 start-ups and investors.

"This [political] instability may endanger what we have achieved, the ecosystem that has been built and our capacity at attracting talent," Mr Labarriere told The National.

"We feel the worry from French investors and entrepreneurs. Many have spontaneously contacted us in the past three weeks to ask us what is going to happen," Mr Labarriere added.

France Digitale has launched an express campaign to highlight the importance of continuing to attract foreign talent in the start up sector. Its needs were largely ignored by political parties in the recent campaign, which focused on more polarising topics including immigration, insecurity and unemployment.

"We must neither fight innovation nor Europe," wrote France Digitale's director Maya Noel in an op-ed published last month in daily Les Echos.

"Neither foreign capital nor the legal immigration of international talents should be prohibited. We must believe in our ability to innovate and to continue to make France shine beyond its borders."

Others hope that the sector may be able to lie low and survive Mr Macron's rivals until the next presidential election in 2027 thanks to their apparent lack of interest in the sector.

Mr Macron cannot run again but there has been speculation that his decision to call for snap elections was a high-risk gamble to expose the far right's failure at governing.

"I find it hard to imagine a future in which all state support to innovation is cut," said Vladimir Spalaikovitch, CEO at Weefizz, a start-up in the clothing sector that works with engineers based in Tunisia.

"The RN programme, in particular, is very vague. If they get to nominate a Prime Minister, the differences with President Macron will be so huge that I don't expect any decision to be easily taken."