France’s dynamic new president will push its fastest growing fintech sector up the global rankings the sector is optimistic. But even if they have French roots, startups based in London do not yet seem ready to swap that key hub for Paris.

Seen as crucial to the future of financial services and of vital importance, therefore, to economic growth by governments and business alike, the nascent industry ranges from mobile payment apps to “cryptocurrencies” like bitcoin.

Fintech will continue to be a priority as it provides 60,000 jobs and contributes $9 billion to the economy, Britain says. But other countries have been jostling to replace London as the sector’s main European hub since last June’s vote to leave the European Union.

Paris might seem like an obvious contender due to its history of inventions such as world-wide-web precursor Minitel, famous universities and huge financial sector. France’s fund management industry is also one of the biggest in the world and of the top 10 European banks by global assets, four are French.

Yet, thanks to a lack of investment, rigid labor laws and a reputation for being less international than other cities, a recent Deloitte study ranked Paris 29th among global fintech hubs, and only seventh in Europe. On the top was London.

And determined to change that is President Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker voted in two months ago. In order to help turn France into a “startup nation”, he has pledged 10 billion euros ($11.3 billion) to an innovation fund.

The launch of “F Station” in Paris, the world’s biggest startup campus, was attended by the 39-year-old president last month.

Originally from northern France but now based in a fintech co-working space in London’s Canary Wharf is mobile payments startup YoYo Wallet. While saying that he might consider Paris if starting out now, but when he was choosing a base in 2013, London was the “obvious choice” for Alain Falys, CEO of YoYo Wallet. He intends to stay put in London.

“If Macron pursues his globalist, internationalist agenda – if he continues to visit incubators, speak in English, if he shows he’s really understood the force of labor reform in terms of job creation of this sector, he will draw in young people from all over Europe,” Falys said.

“(British Prime Minister) Theresa May will attract no one.”

An opportunity to lure back some of the people it has lost to London is Britain’s expected departure from the EU, now being negotiated, for Paris.

But information about a company that was either moving from London to Paris or opening an additional office there since the vote for Brexit was not available with lobbying group Paris Europlace or trade organization FranceFintech.

But hard to knock off the top spot, at least for now will be London’s prowess in both finance and technology, as well as its internationalism and light-touch regulation, many say.

According to Deloitte, less than a tenth of the venture capital raised by Britain in 2016 – $68 million compared with $783 million, was raised by the French fintech sector.

“We have the world’s greatest financial center and one of the biggest tech hubs in one global city – factors that cannot be replicated in Paris or anywhere else in Europe,” London’s deputy mayor for business and enterprise, Rajesh Agrawal, said.

(Adapted from Reuters)

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