France has just elected a new President, the young and business-friendly Emmanuel Macron. Could he make France a better place to invest? In short the answer is yes, although his ability to make changes are uncertain.

France is a hugely attractive market for foreign investors. It offers a market of 67 million prosperous consumers; it is geographically in the heart of Europe and it is politically at the core of the EU and the Single Market of over 0.5 billion consumers.

Yet France is not as popular with US investors as it should be. Despite being the 2nd largest economy in Europe, it ranks only 7th in Europe for receiving US Direct Investment. Business leaders are deterred by inflexible employment legislation, relatively high taxes and language barriers.

Here are some key changes to watch out for:

France has a very high unemployment rate of 10%. Macron wants to reform the labor market by making it easier for employers to negotiate deals with their own staff on work and pay. He plans to cut government bureaucracy and reinvest savings into skills training. This could make it more attractive for US corporates to hire staff in France.

One of Macron’s biggest problems is low economic growth. He aims to reduce corporate income tax from 33% to 25%, which will allow foreign investors to retain more of their profits.

Macron also wants to encourage more entrepreneurship and Financial Services businesses to set up in France. He is heavily wooing many French nationals who moved to London to bring their skills back to Paris post-Brexit.

In summary, at a time when the UK is pulling out of the EU, France has elected a firmly pro-European leader who brings stability and a pro-business agenda. His next step is to convince the legislature to back his policies. If he can do that, expect to see France become a much more popular destination for US businesses.