In his march to power in 2017, Emmanuel Macron had made the promotion of the “start-up nation” a campaign argument. Six months from the end of his mandate, the President of the Republic continues to hold the same convictions. Thursday, October 7, he was still present at an event organized by Bpifrance to express the merits of “New players” economy, “Champions of tomorrow”. The France 2030 investment plan, announced on Tuesday, October 12, once again demonstrates its attachment to the new economy.
Which must irrigate a few well-defined sectors: environmental transition, with energy and transport, food, and health. These are “Three major themes where the issue of quality of life meets those of sovereignty and technological mastery”, underlines Cédric O, Secretary of State for the digital transition, to explain these choices. No question of doing “Sprinkling” as requested by the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, even if the list of supported sectors does not stop there: space launchers, agriculture, forestry, robotics and cultural content will be affected by the investment program.
Particular attention will be paid to the production of semiconductors in France. This sector dominated by Asians, especially, and the United States, is currently suffering from shortages which handicap economic activity at the global level. Even if it retains some flagships in the sector (STMicroelectronics, Soitec …), “Europe wants to get back into the game. This will require cooperation with the help of the actors in place ”, admits Cédric O. To catch up, France is therefore betting 6 billion euros on electronic components and robotics.
Above all, France aims to give itself all the means to push its candidates at a time when new technologies are emerging. “5G, quantum or artificial intelligence will potentially reshuffle the cards of the global economy; this time we want to be among the winners ”, underlines Cédric O. The State is convinced that a fertile ground has hatched to build world leaders. Only condition: “Go fast and hard”, explains the Secretary of State, while assuming: “We want to massively increase our risk-taking on emerging technologies, including with a high failure rate. “
XXL size fundraisers
Even if it has been able to demonstrate its ability to attract large funds to supply the most promising French young shoots with capital – around 10 billion euros were to be mobilized in 2021 – France has not yet proven its ability. to create undisputed global giants. In the plan presented on Tuesday, part of the resources deployed must be donated for the creation of funds of more than 1 billion euros capable of taking part in XXL-size fundraising in France. In order to continue and even accelerate support for start-ups, the investment plan provides for 2 billion euros in grants and 3 billion euros in equity.
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