PARIS: Nearly 140 chief executives from companies around the world will gather at the Versailles Palace outside Paris on Monday, as the French government steps up its efforts to attract more foreign investors.
President Emmanuel Macron orchestrated what is being billed as an "attractiveness summit" to take advantage of the convergence of executives for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week.
A handful of economic accords are to be announced, including a major investment in "traditional industry" and two in "high-tech and artificial intelligence", an official in the president's office said.
"We are going take advantage of the fact that on their way to Davos, corporate leaders are coming to Europe and can make a stop in Paris," the official said, asking not to be named.
The session will begin with a lunch with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, followed by sessions with government ministers and prominent private figures including the mathematician Cedric Villani.
Macron will cap the event with a closed-door speech and dinner.
"The president had a quiet straightforward goal, that an 'attractiveness summit' doesn't make any sense unless it comes with concrete projects," the source said.
Roughly half of the participants will come from European companies, including Bosch, SAP, Novartis and Rolls-Royce.
About 25 percent will come from American groups, and the remainder from Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The bosses of JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Bank of America are expected to attend, while China's Alibaba will be represented by its deputy CEO.