PARIS (Reuters) – The American groups Pfizer and Eastman and the German BASF unveiled a series of investments in France on Monday on the occasion of a day dedicated to the attractiveness of France organized by President Emmanuel Macron.
France was thus to announce over the course of the day 21 investment projects by foreign companies in the country, representing a total amount of four billion euros and 10,000 job creations, particularly in the chemical industry, health and technology. ‘food industry.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla announced an investment of 520 million euros over five years in France and a partnership with the French Novasep for part of the global production of the active ingredient of its anti-COVID 19 pill.
For its part, the chemical group Eastman, whose CEO Mark Costa met Emmanuel Macron on Monday morning, said it plans to invest up to one billion dollars (875.2 million euros) to build the largest in France. molecular plastics recycling plant in the world.
Emmanuel Macron went in the afternoon to the Haut-Rhin, where the German group BASF announced an investment of 300 million euros for a factory of HMD, a plastic precursor used in mobility technologies.
“You are going to make this site a European champion”, welcomed the Head of State.
Less than three months before the first round of the presidential election, in which he is not yet an official candidate, Emmanuel Macron did not miss the opportunity to emphasize that these investments had been made possible by the reforms carried out by his government since the start of the five-year term, and encouraged by the “France 2030” recovery plan that he presented in December.
Six ministers traveled at the same time throughout France to present other projects among the 21, such as the relocation of a semiconductor activity of the Belgian X-Fab in Essonne for 60 million euros, or to make update on projects already announced.
Since coming to power in 2017, Emmanuel Macron has introduced a series of reforms to reduce the tax burden on businesses and make the labor market more flexible, a policy that has earned him the label “president of the rich”. “.
(Written by Blandine Hénault, Michel Rose and Tangi Salaün, edited by Bertrand Boucey)