Sovereign Funds and the Big French Companies

Thibaut SARTRE Directeur de la stratégie financière, de l’immobilier et de la modernisation, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS).

The appearance of sovereign funds in the French economy – though still small – must be considered as a positive fact. The main concern should be the risk of a lack of their interest in the investment opportunities of the French economy rather than that of a massive inflow of funds.

The big French companies own major assets to attract them and have them associated to their growth. On the whole, the attractiveness strategy to implement must rely first on the main economic agents but also on a sound politico economic diplomacy targeting these funds. Another important point is trying to have a French influence in these funds’ management teams.