For Emmanuel Macron, it is time for his final appearance at VivaTech as President of the Republic. Nearly ten years after his promise to turn France into a “Startup Nation,” the French startups gathered at the Paris event are numerous in praising the improvement in their image, while industry organizations and institutional stakeholders are already looking beyond 2027.
For the president, who will walk through the aisles of the Paris exhibition on Thursday—the largest event in Europe dedicated to new technologies—this visit marks the beginning of the end of a closely watched relationship, less than a year before the next presidential election.
“Over the past 10 years, the overall assessment is still positive,” Maya Noël, CEO of France Digitale, the lobbying organization representing French startups, told AFP. “We have succeeded in building an ecosystem of innovative companies and rapidly growing investment funds,” she said enthusiastically.
According to Franck Sebag, a partner at EY, which publishes a review every six months of venture capital investments in French startups, investment volumes rose from €2.1 billion in 2016 to €7.3 billion in 2025.
“Mistral’s Sales Representative”
Some remain more skeptical, however. Olivier Perroquin, president of cybersecurity startup AnozrWay, regrets what he describes as weak public procurement. While emphasizing the importance of the public investment bank Bpifrance, he notes that the institution was created several years before Emmanuel Macron’s election.
When Macron arrived at the Élysée Palace, he also inherited other public support mechanisms for startups, such as the French Tech Mission, the Research Tax Credit, and the “Innovative Young Company” status.
The entire ecosystem, however, appears to agree that Emmanuel Macron has provided innovative companies with a valuable platform, notably through the creation of the Choose France summit and through his public statements.
Known for engaging directly with the leaders of France’s emerging tech champions, he rarely misses an opportunity to publicly praise them. Some members of the government have adopted a similar approach.
“I consider myself somewhat—indeed very much—like Mistral’s sales representative,” Anne Le Hénanff, Minister Delegate for Digital Affairs, told AFP in an interview, referring to Mistral, France’s flagship artificial intelligence company.
“We Are Growing Much More Slowly Than Our Non-European Competitors”
Despite its growth, the French startup ecosystem still struggles to compete on the global stage.
Economist Antonin Bergeaud, Associate Professor at HEC Paris, points to a “decline in terms of innovation in France compared with other countries.”
According to OECD figures, France has remained since 2010 at a level of research and development spending equivalent to 2.2% of GDP, while the figure reached 3.1% in Germany and 3.4% in the United States by 2025.
“We must not forget that we are still lagging behind because, in the end, even though we have grown significantly and many companies have experienced remarkable growth, we are growing much more slowly than our non-European competitors,” regrets Maya Noël of France Digitale.
“Serious Concern”
Given the constant need for public and private funding to support startup growth, some are already thinking about the president’s successor.
“There is serious concern because startups are something of a leading indicator of what is going well—or not going well—in the economy,” says the CEO of the unicorn company Mirakl, which specializes in e-commerce.
“When you have startups, it means people are willing to launch businesses and create jobs, and it means others are willing to invest,” the executive continues.
In an effort to influence future public policy, France Digitale says it has already begun speaking “with campaign teams and the people responsible for drafting policy platforms.”
“What we are trying to make people understand is that we need stability,” argues its CEO.
