IIn recent years Paris has improved dramatically. Global businesspeople, financiers and techies casually say in conversation that they are spending more time in the City of Lights. Wall Street banks have expanded their offices there; venture capitalists are signing more checks for French startups. The annual investment summit held at the Palace of Versailles in May has become a permanent fixture on the calendar of chief executives. This year, sipping champagne with President Emmanuel Macron, company bosses pledged €15 billion ($16 billion) of investment projects.
This renaissance is part of Mr. Macron’s ambition to make France more innovative and business-friendly. But now that project is in danger. After his centrist party’s defeat in European Parliament elections, Mr. Macron announced a snap national parliamentary election, with a first round scheduled for June 30. Hard-right and hard-left parties are running far ahead of Mr. Macron’s bloc. Both have unsustainable spending plans that are scaring away investors and are not conducive to global business. Just a few weeks ago, Paris, which is also due to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in July, was in the headlines. Now a cloud of uncertainty hangs over its great commercial revival.