The election of Emmanuel macron as the new president of France is anticipated to have a positive impact on the fintech sector in France and the development of the financial sector at large. Macron is fond of new technologies and passionate about better economic performance in both France and the European Union at large. He was born in Amiens, France in 1977 and is married to Brigitte Trogneux, who is 24 years his senior.
During his reign as the economy minister in the government of former president Francois Hollande, Macron was very particular in advocating for free market policies and the reduction of public finance deficit. He has denied being a socialist and explained that he had accepted the position of minister in the leftist government simply to serve the public interest. Indeed, he did not contest for the presidency on either the left leaning or right leaning political parties but formed his own centrist movement, En Marche!
Macron’s progressive approach to the economy is evident in his unequivocal advocacy for the economic overhaul. He is known to have backed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada. Macron is also pro-EU. According to Mourtaza Asad Syed of Yomoni, Macron greatly supported the fintech sector when he served as the economy minister. In particular, he made several initiatives including European convergences like the Payments Service Directive, implementation of banking mobility and co-regulation based on the British sandbox model.
Macron’s approach to the economy and trade including with other countries is undoubtedly conducive to the fintech sector which has thrived partly as a result of trade between different countries. Particularly, European fintech startups have thrived because companies in one country are able to do business with other companies located in other countries with ease.
Significantly, Macron has a finance background, having worked for Rothschild, an investment bank, for four years. During his career in banking, he learnt the ropes of mergers, acquisitions, and debt restructuring, consequently earning the nickname, “the Mozart of finance” after advising Nestle on its acquisition of a Pfizer unit for $12 billion in 2012. While at Rothschild, he found himself at the centre of French business intrigues.
Macron has also dealt with technology companies. For instance, he was part of a team that advised Thierry Breton as chief executive of the technology firm Atos regarding the purchase of Siemens IT unit in 2010. As a junior officer, Macron was in charge of drawing financial models on excel and other software.
Oliver Goy, the founder and president of Lendix, met Macron who gave a talk at the Fintech Revolution, a French fintech event conducted in 2016. According to the conversation they had at the event, Goy asserts that Macron is keen on supporting further development of the fintech sector.
Fintech innovators in Europe can surely count on Macron to champion a better fintech environment. Moreover, he is already aiming at making Paris the Financial Center of the world. So, France is one of the Fintech Countries to watch from now till 2022.
