America’s tech industry is keeping an eye on France’s elections slated for later this month. The outcome will shape not only innovation and trade policy for a powerful country and crucial U.S. ally, but also for other European elections and even White House policy.
The choice currently facing France is in many ways representative of the conflicting values present here in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal recently described the Macron-Le Pen race as “a confrontation of the two sides of Trumpism: pro-growth Donald Trump versus protectionist Donald Trump.” He added, “More than any foreign election in a long time, the French presidential race lands at what might be a crucial moment in the internal White House debate over the future of trade and economic policy.”
What this means is that French voters are faced with a stark choice. They must choose between protectionism and nativism or innovation and economic growth in the first round of elections on April 23. And as of early April, polls show the two likely candidates for the May 7 election will be centrist Emmanuel Macron and National Front candidate Marine Le Pen.
Macron, a 39-year-old former investment banker, has a platform based on economic progress and innovation. He plans to loosen rules on labor, allowing companies to arrange for employees to work more than 35 hours per week. And he wants to reduce the corporate income tax rate from 33% to 25%. He also plans to invest $10 billion from state holdings in publicly-traded companies to finance “the industry of the future.”
What’s more, he has a terrific track record of supporting tech industry growth and jobs. As French Minister of the Economy in the Socialist government, he has joined the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), of which I am president and CEO, in Las Vegas at CES two years in a row, as well as at CES Unveiled Paris. He has argued in favor of new business models, investment in innovation, a more flexible workforce and a future based on technology.
Under Macron’s leadership, French presence at CES jumped, according to CTA’s internal records the number of French exhibitors increased nearly eight-fold between 2013 and 2017, and the number of French attendees grew nearly 300% between 2013 and 2016. He also advocated for ridesharing company Uber to be allowed to operate in Paris, and in so doing helped often-unemployed immigrants and younger adults find work as ridesharing drivers.
While Macron promotes innovation, Le Pen embodies the values of protectionism and nativism. For several elections, her father led the National Front Party as a far-right extremist group. She took over and veered closer to the center, upsetting her father. Ultimately, she banished him from the party, and they no longer speak.