From February 10 to 12, François Hollande will be on an official trip to Washington, received by Barack Obama, but also to California: a great first for a French head of state in 30 years. It will meet the leaders of American internet giants such as Google, Twitter and Facebook, as well as French entrepreneurs based in Silicon Valley.
François Hollande's ambition is to make France a "start-up republic", based on the model of Israel, nicknamed the "start-up nation" for its pool of entrepreneurs. But he is not alone in this mini-campaign to promote entrepreneurship and technological innovation à la Française. A dozen selected business leaders are accompanying the President and the ministers: a presidential delegation that could allow the passage of certain messages both internationally and within the team itself on this official trip.
Busy schedule at the heart of the internet
Together with the Mayor of San Francisco, François Hollande will inaugurate the "US French Tech Hub", an accelerator for French start-ups, financed by public funds and integrated into the French Tech network, recently presented by Minister Fleur Pellerin: a new showcase for innovative French companies such as Sculpteowhich offers 3D printing services, or CarmatThe company is famous for its artificial heart successfully implanted in a French patient.
France " can be innovative, creative, foundational."has already declared François Hollande. "In France, too, we are also capable of inventing, supporting business and trusting entrepreneurs. As I launch the responsibility pact, it is also this movement towards the company that we must support", he stressed again.
The emergence of start-ups was already on the agenda of Socialist President François Mitterand: "Executives go on an adventure. To do so, the government is putting in place a whole series of tax provisions to allow these daring individuals to succeed". he announced as early as 1984...
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For two hours, the delegation will meet innovative start-ups and French bosses who have been living in Silicon Valley for several years. The president will meet about fifteen French entrepreneurs settled in the Valley, including the curing platform Scoop.it, Kwarter, Talend, ubergizmo.com, Smartsy, Scality,…
Within this framework, L'Atelier BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas' technology watch unit, will welcome the presidential delegation on Wednesday, February 12, during its visit to San Francisco : exchanges on energy and the vitality of the new technologies sector and the French assets that start-ups and major national groups can bring to bear across the Atlantic.
Angry subjects
The opportunity is too good to avoid them. Faced with the large American groups, the President will no doubt want to explain his plea for global harmonisation of tax practices to prevent the aggressive optimisation practised on a large scale by some giants of the digital economy. Indeed, the National Digital Council estimates that in France, for revenues of between 2.5 and 3 billion euros per year, four of the largest companies in the digital economy pay only 4 million euros in corporate tax instead of the 500 million euros they would normally be liable for.
Google has just been sanctioned by the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) at 150,000 euros for not respecting the law with its privacy policy.
According to Atlantico (February 6, 2014), Google wouldn't be the only one Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Groupon, eBooking or Airbnb would all be in the eye of the taxman.
In the face of French entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, the misunderstandings that have accumulated between France and its entrepreneurs must be cleared up and, it is hoped, the latter will create the necessary impetus for French politicians to encourage more business start-ups. (Source: afp.com/Justin Sullivan).
This immersion is considered essential to reconnect with the realities of the start-up ecosystem and the spirit of innovation.
