London-based corporations ‘welcome in Paris’ after Brexit vote, French PM says

Manuel Valls said the Government is working on ‘initiatives to reinforce our attractiveness’

One in five businesses are said to be considering moving some of their operations outside the UK (Getty)

France’s Prime Minister says the government is working on new initiatives to lure major international firms from London to Paris following the vote for a Brexit. Mr Valls said he did not want Britain to vote to leave the European Union but that it could be an opportunity for Paris.

“We know that groups based in the City are planning to leave for Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris,” he told Le Parisien newspaper.

“We are working on initiatives that could help reinforce our attractiveness.

“I am thinking particularly of taxation or about the status of expatriates. So I say to major international companies: ‘Welcome to Paris! Come and invest in France!’”

There was widespread concern that large employers would relocate elsewhere following the EU referendum on 23 June but confidence was growing after HSBC became the latest firm to confirm it would be keeping its headquarters in London.

But as many as one in five businesses surveyed by the Institute of Directors were considering moving some of their operations outside the UK, including Vodafone, as they hunt for a “new London”.

The most likely beneficiaries of any exodus were expected to be Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Dublin.

Intense debate continues over how and when Britain will leave the EU, with some leaders in Brussels calling for the Government to trigger Article 50 and start negotiations immediately.

But both Michael Gove and Theresa May – the two most prominent candidates to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister – both say they would not take the step until next year at the earliest as the terms of the UK’s withdrawal continue to be decided.

Thousands of European Union supporters were singing, dancing and marching through central London yesterday in a protest against Brexit.

The “March for Europe” was attended by Remain voters, who argued that the four-per-cent margin of the Leave campaign’s victory was not a mandate for Britain to leave the EU.

Some were calling for MPs to block the legislation in Parliament, while others said the result of the referendum should be invalidated because of “misinformation” during the campaign