(Bloomberg) -- Emmanuel Macron pledged to make Paris a haven for capital markets with a fresh round of measures that would facilitate initial public offerings and direct more investment to smaller companies. 

“We need to step up the efforts begun in 2017 to make France a more attractive place to help finance our economy,” the French president said in a recorded speech shown Tuesday at a conference held by Euronext NV, the Paris-based stock exchange operator. “This will be the priority in the coming months at national level.” 

Macron put his weight behind a proposal made by a lawmaker from his party that would lead to the creation of shares with multiple voting rights so that founders of a business can raise capital while keeping control of the company. The proposal also aims to make it easier and less costly to dismiss high earners such as bankers and traders, which would encourage banks to hire in Paris — but it’s not clear how it would be implemented. The plan was first reported by Bloomberg News last year.

The French leader set himself on a mission to lure finance jobs after the UK voted to exit the European Union in 2016. Macron said in the video that his pro-business policies after Brexit translated into the creation of more than 7,000 jobs in the sector between 2017 and 2022. After the first wave of relocations, with banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. expanding their local presence, the government is keen to develop the whole value chain in financial services, officials have said.

The proposed law is expected to be reviewed by parliament next month.

Macron also pledged to help listed small and medium-sized companies raise funds, according to a transcript of the video shared by Macron’s office. The public bank Caisse des Depots et des Consignations will devote €500 million to investments in funds that invest into smaller enterprises, he said.

A tax-advantaged share savings plan known as PEA-PME will also get simplified, to make it easier to finance smaller companies, Macron said.

He also renewed France’s plea for a capital markets union in the EU, saying that it will be a priority for the next Commission after the June elections at the European Parliament. “I would like to see Germany and I make bold proposals in the coming weeks,” Macron said.

 

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.