Foreign investments in France boosted by François Hollande
Real estate investments in France
On Tuesday 11th of February 2014, French leader François Hollande was invited as guest of honor for a dinner meeting at the White House in order to leverage and tried to persuade US President Barack Obama to invest in France. Boosting investments in France, especially in the real estate field, would mean boosting French economy.
François Hollande declared at a conference with Obama that “this economic recovery in the United States is an opportunity for Europe, but it also is an example to be followed in encouraging competitiveness and innovation”. Two days meetings were also aimed to focus on the long relationship between the United States and France which started in 1996 by a French leader visit. Barack Obama stated that the United States and France “stood together for freedom for more than 200 years, and tonight he again wants to pay a tribute to President Hollande for the principled of leadership and personal friendship and courage that he has shown on the world stage.”
François Hollande encouraging foreign investments in France
French leader tries to encourage foreign investments in the real estate and develop the French property market by promising to cut payroll taxes by €30 billion and in 2017, by €50 billion from government spending. “[…] you have to be stronger than you were before the ordeal, before the crisis. You need to be able to mobilize more strength, more energy,” he said. The European Commission highlighted that France’s domestic product raised by 0.2% in 2013 and there might be a 0.9% expansion in 2014. Both US exports to France and imports from France have increased according to US Census Bureau figures. The French economy being the world’s fifth largest.
Regarding the United States economy, the aim does not differ much. Barack Obama, as State leader, is also focused on quick economic growth and in 2013; the economy grew by 1.9%. In respect of US unemployment rate, it fell to a five-year low of 6.7 % in December.
Moreover, growth is following up thanks to trade. Obama emphasizes on the target of increasing exports to $3.14 trillion in value by 2014 from $1.57 trillion in 2009 and succeed in two important trade agreements with 11 Pacific Fringe nations and 28 European members.
Since his May 2012 election, Hollande wants to block large multinationals from doing what he calls “tax optimization.” He declared, “We can’t have different rules and different taxes across Europe or it leads to optimization, where companies shop for the best rates.”
