French prime minister Manuel Valls insisted he was “pro-business” on a trip to London on Monday where he defended his Socialist government against a string of criticism of its economic and business reforms, reports FRANCE 24.
Valls met British counterpart David Cameron and British and French executives, giving a speech at the Guildhall in the heart of the British capital's City financial district, where he sought to dispel the notion that France’s government was hostile to business.
"My government is pro-business!" he told British business leaders in English, quipping: "A French prime minister in the City is an event. A Socialist French prime minister in the City is a revolution!"
Relations between France and Britain briefly soured in 2012, after Cameron said that he would “roll out the red carpet” for French executives following the election of President François Hollande who had declared “that his real enemy was the world of finance”.
Although ties between the two countries have since improved, France’s economy has been plagued by high unemployment and stagnant growth.
Valls has provoked anger on the left of the Socialist partly by defending stalled reforms to cut charges on companies and to cut public spending, and praising the importance of businesses.
The French prime minister, who arrived in London late on Sunday, began his trip by meeting the French business community in London, home to more than 350,000 French people.
He admitted that France's economic growth had been stuck in a "long breakdown" but said people should not "resign themselves" and encouraged British businesses to invest in France.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.