France’s startup ecosystem faces uncertainty as a new prime minister, and French Tech Mission director Clara CChappaz’sdeparture brings potential shifts in priorities and support
Michel Barnier, the former EU’s Brexit negotiator, has been appointed as the new prime minister of France after weeks of political uncertainty.
However, the government’s continued acrimonious division has generated uncertainty for numerous economic sectors, including the country’s dynamic startup ecosystem, which had previously received public support.
La French Tech is not merely a term that denotes 25,000 businesses but also a public administration initiative supporting the French Tech Mission.
Clara Chappaz, the director of the French Tech Mission, is departing this month as her three-year contract concludes, as she disclosed to Les Échos.
The timing is not only significant but also coincidental. In late August, she stated to TechCrunch that her successor should be an individual who is “not apprehensive” about change” and views it as” an opportunity.
The position is, without a doubt, distinctive. It is affiliated with the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, but a small staff operates it out of Station F.
Its primary objective is to facilitate the development and expansion of the French startup ecosystem domestically and internationally.
It necessitates an individual capable of conversing with journalists, legislators, public officials, and large corporations.
It is currently too late to apply; however, given that it has been characterized as a “dream job,” the”e should b” an adequate number of applicants.
Chappaz, who will not participate in the jury, disclosed that she received numerous inquiries one day during our conversation in August.
She presumably conveyed the same message to them as she did to TechCrunch and her LinkedIn followers: that France is “incredibly fort”Nate” to have its Fr”nch Tech Mission and that her tenure as its director was “exceptional.”
H”However, the p”st is not a reliable predictor of the future, and the individual who succeeds Chappaz will operate in a situation significantly different from the one she faced when she assumed responsibility in 2021.
This is because La French Tech has undergone significant changes over the years, which has resulted in the French Tech Mission adopting new priorities.
Chappaz, too, has encountered her fair share of change in the past three years.
This is not solely because there were three distinct ministers of state for digital affairs during that time; it is a phenomenon encountered in numerous public administrations.
The primary change was in the technology and the macro context: 2024 significantly differs from 2021.
French entrepreneurs, like those in other countries, experienced the ebbs and flows of the pandemic and the fundraising hype that followed, only to return to reality a few months later.
The ensuing geopolitical unrest was accompanied by the realization that countries required industrial champions to rely on.
This entailed the French Tech Mission, commemorating its tenth anniversary in 2023, adhering to the strategic France 2030 agenda.
French Tech 2030 was introduced, emphasizing the economic impact and profound tech spinouts rather than unicorns.
Not that it was responsible for the former: President Emmanuel Macron was the one who established “25 French unico”ns” as an objective” to be achieved by 2025.
(After accomplishing that objective in 2022, he advocated creating 100 unicorns by 2030.)
It is a significant accomplishment for France to have scaleups such as BlaBlaCar and Doctolib, and informing the world of this accomplishment has undoubtedly improved its image.
However, global technology has evolved in the decade since the term “unicorn” was “produced.”
It was time for France to recognize that its entrepreneurs have transformed, as evidenced by the emergence of companies such as Mistral AI and Pasqal (and the subsequent decline of others, such as Luko).
Since its inception in 2012, the France Digital Association, representing investors and entrepreneurs in the French digital ecosystem, has been in a prime position to observe this evolution among its members.
Maya Noël, the organization’s organization, “There are currently “startups in all sectors, including manufacturing and healthcare, which are also sectors that I believe are strategic priorities for the competitiveness of France and the sovereignty of France and Europe.”
Nöel suggested that this development could be intriguing for Chappaz’s success. Chappaz’s signature is from one of these strategic sectors.
However, this is not intended to disparage Chappaz’s heritagChappaz’sined from Vestiaire Collective, a second-hand fashion marketplace) or her predecessors. The two structures have been in “constant dialogue” and are “fairly” aligned,” as our conversation with Noël revealed.
Chappaz’s leader’s implemented initiatives that align with the sector’s advocacy sector.
One such initiative is “Je Choisis La Fr”nch Tech,” which involved “he commitment of 300 companies and 80 institutional actors to doubling the number of public contracts and purchases from startups. “We have been req”testing this for a decade,” Noël stated.
Fr”nce Digitale expressed a desire for a more rapid pace of progress, particularly regarding the prevalent issue of entrances (or the lack thereof).
If La French Tech were to lack governmental support, a new director with a public service background might be able to drawstrings on the administration side. Still, someone with first-hand knowledge of scaleups and international expansion could add value at its helm, Noël said.
La French Tech Mission has arguments that could be persuasive to various elements of the political support spectrum: that startups are directly and indirectly responsible for creating 1.1 million employment and the reindustrialization of France.
Many individuals also pledged to support the Parity Pact, which Chappaz and her team initiated to promote gender equality in technology.
We extend our best wishes to her successor as they navigate these challenges. This is also true for Chappaz, who is anticipating her second child and has not yet determined her next course of action.
However, she has indicated that it will involve technological innovation.
