In the cover feature of Reflets Magazine #142, Fleur Pellerin (E94) speaks about her career from the high echelons of French politics to the European and Asian tech ecosystem.  […]

Reflets Magazine: You launched the French Tech brand in late 2013. Almost ten years later, how do you view the record-breaking capital raising of €11.6 billion in 2021, and the fact that there are some thirty French unicorns currently in existence? 

Fleur Pellerin: For me, this is a great endorsement of the work that’s been accomplished in ten years. It clearly proves that creating an ecosystem takes time, it’s a living entity which is seeing the beginning of a long maturation process. At present, we’re in a dynamic of progress, a lot has been achieved, the capital investment business is far more mature and our entrepreneurs are also more ambitious and internationally-minded. We’re on the right track. Among these thirty unicorns, five to ten must now reach a value of $10, $15, $20 or $30 billion. That’s the aim and the next growth step.

RM: Do you think the creation of the French Tech brand served as a booster?

F. Pellerin: Initially, I took the ecosystem approach because, as I was defining my own roadmap, I was well aware that it takes more than just setting up a tax measure or supporting an innovation fund scheme for everything to come together. By observing what worked well in other countries, I soon realised that we needed a set of various measures and to work on taxation, the re-investment of capital gains and the regulatory and tax aspects of entrepreneurship and business creation. I also believed that branding and communication was another key aspect, because the success of the project would rely on attracting foreign investment, and to do that, we had to create an attractive, appealing image and showcase French success stories.

RM: It must be remembered that “French bashing” was a national pastime for English-speaking countries at that time...

F. Pellerin: France was absolutely not perceived as a technological nation. We were respected for our heritage, our fashion and luxury business, and wines and spirits, but the only links to innovation were Ariane and the TGV trains, our industrial feats of the 1980s. The idea behind French Tech was thus to restore some self-esteem to our entrepreneurs, to encourage tutoring, and the exchange and sharing of good practices and information. In short, to foster a new atmosphere and identity to boost the self-confidence of this community and strengthen its international ambitions. As a result, when I accompanied a delegation of 150 French start-ups to the CES in Las Vegas in 2014, this was a first and it made a strong impression. Even the Washington Post and the Financial Times credited us with some fairly positive articles. That may sound a little superficial, but this communication endeavour was one of the key elements in naming what we were trying to promote.

RM: You spoke about your own roadmap, is that really how it happened?

F. Pellerin: Generally speaking, institutions, policy makers and the administration are really lagging behind in their understanding of the stakes of the digital economy in the real world. This is due to the fact that the digital economy works in a completely different time frame from the traditional economy. You need to remember that most of the world’s highest value companies around now didn’t exist fifteen years ago. This acceleration of time, which will intensify further with Web3, does not allow for the regulator and its administration to be fully in phase with economic development, so they are struggling to put forward appropriate and timely regulations. I arrived at an organisation which did not fully realise the impact of this incredible revolution we are still experiencing. I therefore didn’t have a very clear roadmap for the digital aspect of my ministry. I virtually had carte blanche, which turned out to be an extraordinary opportunity, because it meant I could decide and run my own shop with no interference from anyone.

RM: Has France now become a key player in international innovation?

F. Pellerin: Yes, I think we’ve done some outstanding catching up. France was well positioned in terms of R&D, for example, thanks to schemes such as the tax credit for research. The pieces of the puzzle were there, but not fitted together. They’re fitted together at present, and I can see that, generally speaking, the country is much more acculturated to technological topics, with a very different mentality and brilliant entrepreneurs emerging from just about everywhere. The same can be said for all European countries, even the smaller nations, and it’s great to see that our continent has succeeded in creating innovation everywhere.

RM: Has the time come to focus our efforts on Deeptech start-ups, as the new MD of French Tech, Clara Chappaz (E12), hopes?

F. Pellerin: In fact, I think we need a little of everything. I’m not sure that States are generally in the best position to interfere in what the private sector is doing and select the champions of the future, even if, in France, the public investment bank does a substantial amount of work. That said, it is worth being proactive and encouraging certain sectors, so as not to become subjugated by countries which will have invested heavily in new technologies. Take the example of semi-conductors; I find it very alarming that the whole world is dependent on three Asian suppliers or that 70% of the supply chain for self-driving electric vehicles is Chinese. So, yes, I’d say we need to look at focusing on a certain number of technologies we believe to be essential for the value chain and make strong strategic choices.

RM: Is the French technology ecosystem on the right track, in your opinion?

F. Pellerin: […]

Interview by François de Guillebon, Chief Editor of Reflets Magazine

Translation of an excerpt of an article published in Reflets Magazine #142. Click here to read a preview of the issue (in French). Subscribe here to get the next issues (in French)!