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The latter bill has for the moment
been shelved, and we hope that the
Russians will adjust their reactions to
foreign sanctions, because a law like
that must not call foreign investment
into question.
You deal with business in the country
on a day-to-day basis. What advice can
the French Foreign Trade Advisors
give to entrepreneurs that wish to set
up business in Russia?
Russia is a land of opportunities,
where potential investors can
benefit from the support of the very
active French business community.
France is the number one foreign
employer in Russia, and one of the
leading investors. We are lucky to
have a very fine section of the
Foreign Trade Advisors here, consis-
ting of presidents of major French
companies, such as Total, Schneider
and Alstom and also of banks such
as the Crédit Agricole and Natixis, as
well as of companies doing business
in luxury and of small and medium-
sized companies, which makes it
possible to have a global vision of
the market. The Franco-Russian
Chamber of Commerce is also very
dynamic.
It is therefore essential for companies
to rely on this business community in
Russia to make contacts with people
in the same sector as that in which
they wish to invest, in order to have
the first concrete appraisal of the
market.
In Russia, it is very important to know
your discussion partner well and also
influential people in the sector in
which you wish to work. Information
in this market is not always easy to
find.
The second piece of advice is that you
need to formalize your relations, and
the Russian system makes it possible
thanks to the many tools that are
made available to entrepreneurs.
Emmanuel Macron was the guest of
honour of the 22nd edition of the Saint
Petersburg Economic Forum. He
called on French entrepreneurs to
invest more in Russia. In your opinion,
what are the current business oppor-
tunities?
Saint Petersburg was a great event. It
was above all a success due to the
quality of the delegation led by
Emmanuel Macron, the President of
France, and the proactive and
pragmatic discourse of the two
Presidents, especially in their joint
willingness to strengthen French
investments in Russia.
There are many sectors in which
there are opportunities: among them
are the agri-food sector, pharmaceu-
ticals, where production local is
encouraged, and energy.
Russia has made a major technologi-
cal leap forward in recent years,
especially in the field of smart cities,
which has become attractive for
French start-ups that are specialized
in new technologies.
How do you see Franco-Russian
trading relations developing in the
more or less long term?
I am optimistic about the develop-
ment of bilateral relations. France
has a solid investment structure in
the country, which enabled it to
survive the four last years, despite
the complications. Despite the 2014
sanctions, no major French investors
have left Russia.
The economic situation is improving
today, but the issue that remains is
that of the resources that we have
to relaunch the volume of business.
Several factors will impact this
development, such the quality of
Franco-Russian relations, but also
the decisions that the Americans
will make and their extraterritorial
nature.
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