When Paris is in the news these days, the focus is overwhelmingly on the effects of Brexit on the French capital. After all, Paris is only 350 kilometres away from London and the current uncertainty around the impact of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union on London’s financial sector could be huge. Since the referendum in 2016, speculation about potential moves of London-based institutions to Paris — and other European centres — has multiplied.

And while the EU-exit of the United Kingdom might “push” some companies to the continent, France and Paris themselves have started to try and “pull” companies to their shores. Just a few weeks after the referendum, for example, the then French prime minister Manuel Valls announced a series of measures to reinforce the position of Paris aimed at improving the “fiscal and regulatory” environment to “welcome many companies” and make Paris the “capital of smart finance”. The French government also set up