The boss of Couche-Tard was poorly received in France, according to French employers

Bouchard when he wanted to buy Carrefour. […] I say that very honestly. He was poorly received as he sought to expand his business. I think he would have been a great shareholder”,”text”:”I regret what happened with Mr. Bouchard when he wanted to buy Carrefour. […] I say that very honestly. He was poorly received as he sought to expand his business. I think he would have been a great shareholder””>I regret what happened with Mr. Bouchard when he wanted to buy Carrefour. […] I say that very honestly. He was poorly received as he sought to expand his business. I think he would have been a great shareholdersays the businessman who has led French employers since 2018.

Let’s go back to January 2021. It was at this time that the Quebec owl tried to buy Carrefour and its 12,300 stores for the staggering sum of $25 billion.

But quickly, there is water in the gas. In the midst of a pandemic, the French state considers Carrefour a strategic asset and decides to block the transaction.

In a last-ditch attempt, Alain Bouchard even made the trip to Paris to meet the French Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, in order to convince him. But he remains inflexible. My position is a courteous, but clear and definitive nosaid the minister at the time.

Last fall, during an interview with Patrice Roy, Alain Bouchard said that the project had failed because the transaction had been leaked.

We learned with France that confidentiality is not like in America, where the rules are very strict. There, everyone talks. And it came out prematurely, very prematurelyhe pointed out.

A form of condescension?

However, according to the President of the MedefMr. Bouchard was also the subject of a form of condescension because of his Quebec origins.

: it’s not a small Quebec entrepreneur who will be the right shareholder for this large French distributor”,”text”:”[L’État français] shouldn’t have slammed the door in your face like that. […] Afterwards, I don’t know the details, it’s a matter with the shareholders. But it was done clumsily, on the theme: it is not a small Quebec entrepreneur who will be the right shareholder for this large French distributor””>[L’État français] shouldn’t have slammed the door in your face like that. […] Afterwards, I don’t know the details, it’s a matter with the shareholders. But it was done clumsily, on the theme: it is not a small Quebec entrepreneur who will be the right shareholder for this large French distributor.laments Mr. Roux de Bézieux in an interview with Radio-Canada.

Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux is the president of the Mouvement des entreprises de France.

Photo: Medef

According to him, the course of Mr. Bouchard should on the contrary have excited the French.

« Now the deal didn’t happen. It’s a pity all the same that we have a wonderful entrepreneur like that, that we didn’t know how to welcome him better in our country. »

— A quote from Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux

Ironically, Couche-Tard has just made a major acquisition in Europe with the purchase of 2,200 service stations from the French company TotalÉnergies.

Invitation to Quebec entrepreneurs

Mr. Roux de Bézieux believes that this unfortunate episode should not discourage local entrepreneurs from settling in France.

I would be delighted for other Quebec entrepreneurs to come and invest in France; it makes jobs, it makes wealth and taxes for the statehe said.

This is also what Karl Blackburn, president of the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ), said in an interview with Radio-Canada for the International Day of La Francophonie.

Karl Blackburn

Photo: Radio-Canada/Lisa-Marie Fleurent

The whole market of France, but also of the Francophonie represents real opportunities so that Quebec companies can shine internationallyhe said.

million French speakers in the world. In regarding forty years, we will be one billion, the third language spoken will be French. So for Quebec, there are real opportunities for growth”,”text”:”There are 325million Francophones in the world. In regarding forty years, we will be one billion, the third language spoken will be French. So for Quebec, there are real opportunities for growth””>There are 325 million French speakers in the world. In regarding forty years, we will be one billion, the third language spoken will be French. So for Quebec, there are real opportunities for growthpoursuit M. Blackburn.

A French-speaking employers

His French counterpart, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, also chairs the Alliance du patronat francophone. Mr. Blackburn is treasurer of the organization, which will meet in Quebec next June. The goal? Make connections, create relationships between business people and between French-speaking countries.

This will be the time for entrepreneurs to talk to each other. So that what unites us, the Francophonie, can become a vector of growthcroit M. Blackburn.

In total, the Alliance brings together 28 employers’ organizations from French-speaking countries which represent 16% of the world’s gross domestic product and 20% of trade.

Language is very important in the economy of the future. It is very underestimated in the way we see economic exchanges. We want to meet the bosses. We have operational working groups, calls for tenders in French, on digital, […] distance education, etc.explains Mr. Roux de Bézieux.

If the European and African markets bring several perspectives for local entrepreneurs, Quebec is just as enticing for business people from France.

Quebec is the best of both worlds. It is the dynamism, the entrepreneurial spirit that there is on the North American continent. It is stronger than in France. […] It is the natural gateway to the North American continentlaunches the president of the Medef.

no bullshit” […] There is this direct side that the French do not have, we are more complicated. It’s very pleasant to do business with them”,”text”:”Quebecers have kept “no bullshit” from the Anglo-Saxons […] There is this direct side that the French do not have, we are more complicated. It’s very pleasant to trade with them””>The Québécois have kept from the Anglo-Saxons the “no bullshit” […] There is this direct side that the French do not have, we are more complicated. It’s very nice to do business with them.he continues, laughing.

French, an everyday challenge

If the economic Francophonie is very much alive, it nevertheless remains a daily challenge for entrepreneurs in Quebec, believes the CPQ. There is always additional pressure for the use of the English language, it is an everyday issueexplique M. Blackburn.

But, according to him, the business community understands the advantage of speaking French, and the saying to be born for a bun has been much less topical in recent years.

You have to relax. We don’t have the language of wood and [on peut] prove to the whole planet that even if we are a Quebec company, a small drop of French-speaking water in an English-speaking ocean, we are able to hold our ownhe said.

In France, where English expressions have flourished in recent years, we also understand the importance of keeping French in business circles, even if it is not always easy.

: we have less this feeling of encirclement. Me, I’m bilingual, but I avoid English […] Within Europe, even if the United Kingdom is gone, when there is a meeting with Germans and Italians, we exchange in English, because it is the common denominator. But we can do better”,”text”:”We are less obsessed with the subject for a very simple reason: we have less of this feeling of being surrounded. Me, I’m bilingual, but I avoid English […] Within Europe, even if the United Kingdom is gone, when there is a meeting with Germans and Italians, we exchange in English, because it is the common denominator. But we can do better””>We are less obsessed with the subject for a very simple reason: we have less of this feeling of being surrounded. Me, I’m bilingual, but I avoid English […] Within Europe, even if the United Kingdom is gone, when there is a meeting with Germans and Italians, we exchange in English, because it is the common denominator. But we can do betteremphasizes Mr. Roux de Bézieux.

The latter also welcomes the commitment of Prime Minister François Legault to promote the Francophonie in trade, made at the last Francophonie Summit, which was held in Djerba, Tunisia.

I found that to be the right attitude. The more exchanges we have, the more cross-investments we will have, the more the language will be spoken.

I feel that he has clearly understood that, for Quebec, the Francophonie is a springboard for economic growthconcludes Mr. Blackburn.