France's luxury sector welcomes Macron's second presidential term

France’s luxury industry breathed a sigh of relief with the re-election of President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday.

Mr. Macron in January acknowledged the importance of the fashion industry as France's top export sector. At the inauguration of a Chanel-sponsored artisan workshop in January, Marcron said "Today, when I look at figures from 2021, it (fashion) is the leading export sector of our country.”

Macron is only the second president to sit two terms in the past two decades, taking 58.8 percent of the votes over the right wing conservative Marine Le Pen. With Le Pen at France's helm, the employment of many foreign workers would be at risk.

Figures from the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) show fashion in France is a 150 billion euro industry, employing over 1 million people in the sector, with 2.7 percent of GDP generated by the fashion industry. This makes it a more important sector than the automobile and aeronautic industries to the French economy.

French fashion thrives under Macron's policies

Under Macron, the fashion industry has thrived internationally, with 50 of the largest French companies in fashion having an export rate of 80 percent on average.

Macron has championed Made in France craftsmanship, with a law introduced in 2020 to recruit and train artisans to keep the savoir faire in France. French fashion start-ups have also been able to access finance via public investment bank BPI, which helps stimulate French business’ growth by offering loans, providing guarantees and awarding buyer credit and supplier credit to encourage business abroad.

While many business leaders have kept their personal views on the election to themselves, LVMH chief Bernard Arnault has previously publicly endorsed Macron.