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‘France is back’: Macron sends message to Davos elite

French President Emmanuel Macron told the world's business elite in Davos on Wednesday that France was back as a European powerhouse under his reformist government.

Published: 24 January 2018 22:18 CET

'France is back': Macron sends message to Davos elite

“France is back at the core of Europe,” Macron said in English in a highly anticipated speech, before switching to French to outline his vision of a new “social compact” for globalisation.

The 40-year-old elected last May argued for global cooperation to avoid “unbridled tax optimisation”.

Speaking in English, he touted his own economic reforms.

“In France it was forbidden to fail and forbidden to succeed, it reduced your way to manoeuvre. Now it should be more easy to fail and take risks,” he said.

Macron, a former Rothschild investment banker, is the darling of this year's World Economic Forum.

He spoke on the eve of the arrival of protectionist US President Donald Trump, who will be a controversial presence in Davos.

Macron took the podium after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who stepped up to the defence of global free trade as business and political leaders braced for Trump's arrival.

“In terms of trade we're moving towards greater protectionism… we're undoing what globalisation has been able to achieve,” Macron said.

The French leader last came to the forum as a government minister in 2016. He used that visit to make contact with global big bosses, helping build his international credentials 18 months before the French elections that brought him to power.

Switzerland: 2021 Davos summit shifted to Lucerne in May

Participants at the World Economic Forum at Davos in 2020. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

The annual gathering of the world's political, economic and business elite traditionally takes place in January against the idyllic snowy backdrop of the Swiss Alpine village of Davos.

But it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and, charged with remodelling the world economy in the wake of the crisis, will now be held 125 kilometres (75 miles) away in the plush Burgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne.

“The meeting will take place as long as all conditions are in place to guarantee the health and safety of participants and the host community,” WEF spokesman Adrian Monck said in a statement.

“The meeting will focus on the solutions required to address the world's most pressing challenges. “Global leaders will come together to design a common recovery path, to shape 'The Great Reset' in the post-Covid-19 era and rebuild a more cohesive and sustainable society.”

Hybrid format

The WEF announced in June that the 51st edition of its annual meeting would take place in a hybrid format, then in August said it was being delayed for several months to reduce any risks to participants from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Lucerne summit will combine both in-person and virtual elements, with participants linked to a network of around 400 hubs worldwide to incorporate dialogue with the WEF's “young global shapers, to ensure openness and inclusion”, said Monck.

The summit will be preceded during the week of January 25 by digitally-convened high-level “Davos Dialogues”, when global leaders will share their views on the state of the world in 2021.

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1.04 million people while at least 35.5 million infections have been recorded since the outbreak emerged in China late last year, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

The pandemic has also triggered a global economic downturn, though the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that while it is far from over, it will not be as bad as originally feared thanks to a flood of government spending.

The World Trade Organization said likewise, forecasting a global trade contraction of 9.2 percent this year, rather than its previous “optimistic scenario” prediction of 12.9 percent.

But global trade will then grow by only 7.2 percent next year, rather than the previous 21.3-percent estimate issued in April, the WTO added.

Swiss cases rising

The WEF announcement comes as Switzerland announced Wednesday that daily coronavirus cases had jumped over the 1,000-mark for the first time since April 1, when the peak of the pandemic's initial wave began to recede.

Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset has urged the country to “get a grip” and be more rigorous in applying the basic measures to control the spread of the virus.

The 2020 edition of the WEF summit, hosted in January just as the world was beginning to become aware of the new coronavirus spreading in China, drew more than 50 heads of state and government to Davos.

It focused on themes of sustainability and finding a more inclusive model for capitalism. US President Donald Trump and Swedish teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg were among its top speakers.

The WEF said it aims to be back in Davos for 2022.

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