Sunday 05 February 2017 12:38 pm

Entrepreneurs mad at Donald Trump should come to France, says Presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron

French Presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron has reached out to entrepreneurs, academics and scientists in the US reeling from President Trump's travel ban and welcomed them with open arms to the country.

"I want to make a solemn call to all the researchers, academics, businesses who in the United States are battling obscurantism,” he told a rally of supporters in Lyon on Saturday evening.

"I want all those who today embody innovation and excellence in the United States to hear what we say: from now on, from next May, you will have a new homeland, France."

In the 39-year-old former economy minister's bid to lead the country as an independent candidate, he took a side swipe at the controversial President who has drawn the ire of tech bosses and those working across the industry. But, he did not mention Trump directly.

Such a ban is likely to make many non-US cities more attractive to entrepreneurs and large tech companies, who rely on hiring top talent from around the world.

"The tech companies in Silicon Valley and New York are waking up to the fact that, with a stroke of Trump's erratic pen, their key employees, even those with Green cards, can suddenly be barred from returning to their country," BGF Venrures partner Harry Briggs told City PM following last week's executive order.

"If it's Iranian employees this week, who's to know if it'll be Turkish or Moroccan or Indonesian next week? No fast-growing high-flying company wants to take that kind of risk with their core team. So this should make London (and Toronto, and Berlin) much more attractive places for tech businesses. Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon already employ thousands of their engineers here. Trump's actions will likely accelerate that trend,"

Macron's message comes as the country attempts along with several others, including Ireland and Germany, to attract startups and entrepreneurs away from London after Brexit.

The French capital, Paris, is opening the world's biggest startup campus at a mammoth 366,000 sq ft – the size of the Eiffel Tower lying down – and landed and impressive member of the space: Facebook will base its first incubator in Station F.

The country has also launched fresh visa scheme to attract top talent from around the world including founders, investors and engineers.

As economy minister, Macron has championed efforts to attract and foster startups, most recently attending the biggest technology show in the world, CES.

“Innovations by startups will underpin the French economy’s sustainable recovery. It is our entrepreneurs who will create jobs and build the technologies that everyone will be using tomorrow," he said in January.