President Macron celebrated the ninth Choose France summit in Versailles, announcing foreign investment projects with a record value. However, French industry has been struggling for two years. For citizens, this means that promises of employment and local revitalization arrive at a much slower pace than the official headlines.
The technological gap between foreign capital and local production 🔧
The announced projects focus on batteries, green hydrogen, and semiconductors, high-tech sectors. But these factories require specialized profiles that do not always exist in the regions where they are established. The local supply chain still relies on imported components, and construction timelines are extended by bureaucratic procedures. Reindustrialization is not just installing a plant; training and logistics are lacking.
Choose France: where investors dine on caviar and workers wait for crumbs 🥂
While Macron toasted with CEOs at the palace, on the outskirts of Paris an auto parts factory announced a temporary layoff plan. The summit promises 15,000 jobs in three years, but local unions estimate that, at the current pace, twice as many workshops will have closed by then. Something like inviting your friends to a luxury dinner while the soup burns in the kitchen.