'This time, it's really about tech': Paris region president pitches stronger economic ties in Seoul visit
Visiting Korea just a week after President Lee Jae Myung went to France, Paris region chief Valérie Pécresse called for broader cooperation in AI, space, biotech and green infrastructure, in contrast to past focus on luxury and tourism.
Valérie Pécresse, president of France's Paris region regional council, delivers remarks at a networking dinner hosted by the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Pullman Ambassador Seoul on Sept. 16.SEO JI-EUN
Valérie Pécresse, president of the regional council of Île-de-France, underscored the growing strategic synergy between Korea and France on Wednesday, pitching deeper cooperation in AI, biotechnology, space infrastructure and green construction.
The visit to Seoul comes just over a week after Korean President Lee Jae Myung and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to deepen bilateral ties in many of the same fields during Lee's state visit to Paris.
Accompanied by delegates from five French startups, Pécresse spoke Wednesday at a networking dinner hosted by the French-Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Pullman Ambassador Seoul. The event celebrated the 10th anniversary of the partnership between Gyeonggi and the Paris region, alongside the 140th anniversary of Korea-France diplomatic relations.
In an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily, Pécresse noted a shift in focus from a decade ago, which she said centered on luxury goods and tourism. At the time, Korea served as “the point of entry to the Asian and Chinese markets for luxury goods,” she noted.
“This time, it's really about tech — about new space, about semiconductors, about ecological transition,” Pécresse said.
Valérie Pécresse, left, president of France's Paris Region regional council, shakes hands with Gyeonggi Gov. Choo Mi-ae after signing a renewed action plan marking 10 years of partnership between the two regions, at Dodamso in Gyeonggi on Sept. 16.GYEONGGI PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
She pointed to Brexit as a catalyst for the Paris region's increasing focus on Asia, saying businesses that once dealt directly with London are increasingly pivoting to the French capital. She also highlighted a broader push by both nations to reduce reliance on any single power.
“There is also a geopolitical alignment of Korea and France,” she said. “We don't want to be dependent [on] America, China and Russia. We have to matchmake, we have to unite ourselves and work together.”
During her visit, the two regional governments signed a renewed action plan to inject fresh momentum into their decade-old partnership. A key initiative involves linking Gyeonggi's Pangyo techno valley — often called Korea's Silicon Valley — with the Paris-Saclay research cluster, along with cooperation on low-carbon urban transport.
On the green energy front, Pécresse revealed that the Paris region is in talks with LG Energy Solution to expand an existing battery recycling partnership. The Korean battery giant currently operates a recycling plant in Bruyères-sur-Oise, north of Paris, which Pécresse noted has “very good returns.”
The two parties are now exploring whether LG can process batteries from new data centers planned for the Paris region, which she said is expected to host “40 percent” of all data centers in France.
