President Francois Hollande is seeking to woo sceptical investors back to France, telling global business chiefs his government has no fear of foreign capital.
Anxious to return the French economy to sustained growth and reverse record-low poll numbers, Hollande met some 30 top executives at the Elysee Palace for talks on France's business climate on Monday.
The heads of leading companies including Volvo, Bosch, Siemens, Samsung, General Electric, Intel and Nestle were joined at the talks by chiefs of sovereign wealth funds from Gulf nations and China.
The meeting comes after France suffered a 77 per cent drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, while neighbouring Germany saw its FDI quadruple.
"We are not afraid of capital that comes to invest in France, we do not want to protect ourselves," Hollande said after the meeting.
He said a key goal was to "increase investments from emerging countries", who account for only about 10 per cent of capital inflows to France.
Hollande said he would hold a meeting every six months to discuss reforms and announced a series of first efforts - including reduced waiting times for investors seeking visas and measures to attract start-ups and young foreign graduates.
Emerging from the talks, the head of leading Indian industrial group and carmaker Mahindra, Anand Mahindra, said he was now "hopeful" about the French business climate.
"We have not invested in France, we have invested in Germany, in Spain and Italy because we have been concerned whether this is a business friendly regime," he told reporters.
"But after today I think you will see the Mahindra group seriously examining investments in France."
Hollande, a Socialist who once publicly declared his dislike for the rich, has stepped up efforts in recent months to shed his anti-business reputation.
In a major policy speech in January, he vowed to cut taxes and spending, saying France had no hope of "retaining its influence" without a strong economy.
He also last week touted the "dynamism" of French entrepreneurs during a visit to a new French Tech Hub in San Francisco.
Hollande has seen his approval ratings plunge to the lowest level of any modern French leader as the economy stagnates and unemployment has hit a 15-year high.
France's economy last year limped by on 0.3 per cent growth.
