 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Before having the great honor to introduce the President of the French Republic, I would like on behalf of all of us express our condolences to the Saudi royal family and to the Saudi people. Mr. President of the Republic, it is a huge honor for me to welcome you to Davos today. And I would like, Mr. President, to tell you just how deeply affected all participants here were and the great solidarity they feel towards France at this exceptionally difficult time following the tragedy of the 7th of January in Paris. Like many observers, I was incredibly impressed by the exemplary response of the French people and the dignity of their national union. And further, by the accounts of solidarity and the words of support that came from the entire world to France, France, Mr. President, is a country with a unique cultural heritage which is recognized throughout the world as a creative force. As a member of your strategic council for attracting investment, I have been struck by the approach of combining this tradition with innovation and openness to the world at a time where France is having to face many different challenges, economic and geopolitical in nature. Europe needs a strong and confident France in order to be able to find the path to growth, growth which needs to be open to opportunities for all. One of the lessons of the recent tragedy is that we can not forget the weakest and the youngest who can easily fall prey to those who seek to spread a discourse of hatred. And finally, the world needs a France that will continue to defend a message of freedom and peace throughout the world, as it has always done. And it is in this spirit that I welcome to see France's active role in the international negotiations on climate with a major summit due in Paris at the end of this year. We are proud to be able to contribute. The best answer to the extremists is to build a better world and not to sink into distress. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honor for me to give the floor to the President of the French Republic, Mr. François Hollande. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me first of all to thank Professor Schwab for having invited me to this forum. I would like to echo his words of condolence and the tribute he paid to the Saudi people. I'm grateful to Professor Schwab for having reminded us all of the circumstances under which I'm speaking today on behalf of my country. France has been struck by a terrorist attack. For three days it had to face with dignity, with unity, with effectiveness, the extreme challenges it was facing. It benefited from exceptional international solidarity with the presence of your heads of state and government coming from all around the world, particularly from Europe, which fully understood. What was at stake? Because it's not just France which is affected, it is freedom, it is democracy, it is the ability to live together. It's the very foundation of our societies which have found themselves under attack. And I need to say in all sincerity and frankness today that all countries, wherever they are in the world, are vulnerable to terrorism. Many of them have already been gravely affected. Many fear being hurt, every country needs to prepare. Because our main duty is that of clarity, clear-mindedness. We need to recognize the sources of terrorism. They can't go unnamed. It has sources such as radical Islam, jihadism, it's murderous ideology of al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, and all those who act in their name. Terrorism has battlegrounds and means of operating which it takes strength from, whether we're talking about Iraq, Syria, or crisis in Yemen, the Sahel. Terrorism also has powerful means of action. Terrorism fuels itself from all kinds of illicit trafficking, drugs, weapons, human beings. It draws strength from illicit flows of finance, money laundering, international crime. It uses all the technologies available to it, including those that can, if used properly, without prosperity, the exchange of information and ideas. I'm talking about the internet, which terrorism is using as a weapon of indoctrination, a weapon of manipulation, a weapon of confusion. Terrorism has links with our own societies. It recruits in our countries what we've come to call the foreign fighters. Out of 40,000 terrorists that have been mobilized by ISIS, 10,000 at one quarter come from outside the Middle East. So we need to find an answer. And when a country is hit, the answer has to be found at the national level. France has reacted, and it's taken appropriate measures. But there also needs to be a global international response. It needs to be international, and it needs to be shared, shared between the states who have to bear responsibility in the frontline, but also by business, particularly the largest corporations who can also act. Let me come first of all to the responsibility of states, namely, or in particular France. We have to find solutions to conflicts that have been going on for all too long. I'm thinking of Syria, where a political transition has to be found. It's something we've waited too long for. I'm thinking of Iraq, where France is participating in a broad coalition to support those who are in the frontline of the fight against the terrorism of ISIS. In Africa, France is on the ground, and it will continue to be so more than ever. It will be present to help those countries who are having to deal with the scourge of terrorism. I'm thinking of the Sahel in particular, but I know what the situation is in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, who are attacked by Boko Haram. Now France cannot do everything. France cannot act alone, but whenever it can, it will, to lead by example. But the international community needs to provide answers as well. Each time we let a conflict last terrorism benefits, if you look at what happens or what is happening in Libya, where following an intervention that wasn't followed up, this country's unity fell apart and terrorist groups became embedded there. But France will be present, always present. France has an international position that is made up of principles, values, the idea of freedoms, which we don't want to keep for ourselves, that we want to share with the entire world. France will be on the frontline when it has to be. We have been in Africa. So France would once again call on the international community to rise to the challenges to face the threats that we face. Now if we are to succeed, we need to fight all kinds of trafficking, circulation of weapons, financial flows, illicit financial flows. But here again, we need to do more. Europe has to take important decisions to strengthen border controls, to identify terrorists, to follow their movements and identify the presence of danger that they can represent. We need to establish a passenger name register. There is a major program that needs to be put into place with a view to protecting our freedoms. At the European level and the national level, we need to ensure that the Internet is not used for the ends of hatred and violence. We need to improve our intelligence, services, cooperation, invest in cyber defence, cyber security. Everything that France will do, it will be doing, of course, for its self, for its own security. But it will be acting as well for Europe and for the world. Yes, it's an investment. Yes, it's expensive at a time when my country, like others, is having to reduce its deficits, manage its expenditure, carry out reforms. But I believe that this investment is an investment that France has to make for itself, for Europe and for the world. Because we cannot claim to be a great nation. If we are not capable of giving the world what it expects from us, namely from France. And then there are efforts we have to make in our own countries against those who promote terrorism, fundamentalist, sectarian phenomena. The issue of urban segregation. Here, again, we can carry out measures which are important for security, cohesion, solidarity. We will put measures into place. And that is why it's very important to have a growth-oriented policy to create jobs, to promote training and education so that young people have confidence in their future. The economy is an answer, one answer, against despair and poverty. One answer in the face of insecurity and instability. When we talk about the economy in Davos, we talk about growth. We talk about innovation. We speak of our confidence in the economy. But we also need to share and contribute to solidarity, security. So you, the lifeblood of the economic world, the heads of the major corporations, I would ask you not only to be watchful, I would ask you to get involved. A particularly turn towards the major digital corporations so that they can play their role, identify illegal content, make it inaccessible and establish clear rules because you are also stakeholders in the process of regulation. I would call on the financial system to ensure that the terrorist sources of finance are dried up, that we fight tax havens and money laundering. All of these measures are within or rather are in our common interest. Please do not leave it too late. I would call more broadly on the whole of business to make a social and economic contribution to the most fragile of states in the name of solidarity but also in the name of security. I call on you also to counter another threat, which is one that looms over the very future of our world. We need to fight global warming. Professor, you reminded us that France will be hosting a conference on climate change at the end of this year. But it's not just to welcome heads of states and governments and thousands of participants to Paris that we're doing this, not just to state our principles and to deliver a report on the state of the world. We're not just coming for a meeting. Paris needs to result in a binding global agreement that will map out an effective fight against climate change. That is the major challenge of the 21st century. The time is past where humankind thought it could selfishly draw happily on inexhaustible resources. We know now the world is not a commodity. It's not a source of revenue. It's a common good. It's our heritage. And the consequences of climate change are fully known now. We're not talking about theories anymore. We're not talking about hypotheses. We're talking about certainties. If nothing is done, then we're talking about an increase in temperature of four degrees by the end of the century. And we need to stay below the threshold of two degrees. We've also been made fully aware of the consequences. Sea levels could in places rise by many meters, which would mean that we would certainly see the disappearance of many island states in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific and huge damage to the coastlines of all continents. Of the 25 cities that in 2015 have more than 10 million inhabitants, 19 are located on the coastline, which means a huge number of individuals are directly threatened by the consequences of global warming. You can imagine the huge consequences that could have on the world. Now, we're already familiar with refugees from wars and crises. I mentioned Syria only a moment ago. But climatic refugees today are greater in number than those that are linked to conflict or crisis, more than 20 million. So here again, we are faced with a moral responsibility, a political responsibility, because a botched solution to a crisis might result in exacerbating the consequences of climate change. But allow me to present a more confident aspect of our future. The energy transition is filled with opportunities, filled with hope of growth. We are in a rapidly changing world, a model that is on its way out, which is powered by fossil fuels, the model of the 20th century. We are moving into a post-carbon world. We're seeing a huge domino effect caused by technological changes, which is having an impact on all areas, transport, construction, energy, health, food, technology. Our whole economy will be transformed if only we show the will to step up the pace of change, step up the pace of our decision-making. The fight against climate change is also a matter of solidarity. Those countries who are most affected are those countries who are already most vulnerable. It is ironic that those places that are already burdened by a shortage of revenue and wealth are those who are faced the hardest effects of climate change. And if we do not respond with an approach that encompasses solidarity, there will not be an effective answer from Paris. There can only be a true solution if those countries who have not exhausted the resources of the world so far can be reassured that their economic development isn't going to end. And that's why I will make a personal commitment along with the heads of state and government who wish to join me, and I'm sure I know there will be many of them, to achieving an outcome for the financing of the Paris Agreement. I'm talking about the green fund which would gather to ensure the economic and energetic transition of developing these developed countries. 10 billion euros have already been collected, more than 100 are necessary for us to be able to realistically believe that an agreement is possible. So we need to find more than 90 billion euros by June. Where are they going to come from? Well, of course, from individual states. That's part of their responsibility. Financial institutions, yes, they can also contribute and participate, but also major corporations, major financial companies, and any company that understands that by contributing to this fund, they are creating greater investment opportunities and better markets for the future. Again, here, everybody has to recognize their own responsibility. The states have a responsibility to reach an agreement which is currently under negotiation. The countries then have to sign a very specific agreement to limit the emission of greenhouse gases, but also society as a whole has a responsibility. I'm talking about what you could call the agenda of solutions. You need to recognize that alongside the green fund that needs to be created, the responsibility of states that's enshrined in an agreement, that there is a broad social commitment to the necessary changes. And France, as president in the process and the run-up to the conference, wants to ensure that France can play a major role. There will be many events organized. We want to see businesses in event, research, and prepare with us and with non-governmental organizations and civil society, prepare, lay the groundwork for tomorrow's society, tomorrow's economy. It is absolutely essential that the lifeblood of the world's economy is fully involved in developing a response to climate change. It's what I call the Paris Alliance for the Climate, and I've come here to urge you to participate in this alliance. We need huge investments of capital in the green economy. Today, if you look at the traditional investment portfolios, less than 1% is invested in the green economy. So we need to create a new market, a market of financial products, a market of green bonds that would operate at the global level. On the one hand, you need to create a demand, capital ready to be invested. On the other hand, the opportunities, which would be part of this new green economy. We also recognize that it's right to send the right message to the markets, and a predictable carbon price is essential if businesses are going to be able to plan their investments ahead. In this period, one of our greatest challenges is volatility, uncertainty. We see it everywhere in exchange rates, in the price of commodities, in the world, geopolitical situation. And when there is instability, uncertainty, volatility, there isn't any investment. So I've come here to advocate a clear vision of how the world will be in a few years to foster a determination to fight against the risk and an understanding of how we will get there. Now, carbon pricing is one element of that clear vision. Now, you might say the drop in the oil price might be an impediment to the understanding of a gradual phasing out of fossil fuels from the energy mix. But if you ask me, I think that the opposite is the case, the drop in the oil price. We don't know how far it will drop. We understand that we'll have to have some kind of limit. But the drop in the oil price creates an opportunity for investment. Because what we can do now with this margin that's been created is make the investments that are absolutely essential in the energy transition. We have the capacity, you as key players in the economy have the capacity to invest in this change. And I've come here on behalf of France to say that we are ready. We are looking at the conditions that will enable France to keep its position in the international context and in the context of technology and industry. We recognize today that growth has been too weak. It's not at the same level throughout the world. But it is too weak. And unemployment is too high, particularly in the Eurozone. And we know that what undermines the potential for growth today is doubt relating to Europe. Political tension raised the issue of the Middle East, but also Ukraine. Because this creates worries not only at the humanitarian level where we see people dying every day on Europe's very frontiers, but also there's a major risk of instability. There are sanctions, embargoes, which in turn create difficulties in the training system beyond Ukraine itself. And also there is financial instability. In light of all this, the world needs to respond. The G20 has taken good steps in advocating stronger growth, better coordination of economic policies, better regulation of financial flows, and a more effective combat against tax evasion, tax havens. And I welcome these efforts and indeed the results that have arisen from them because it shows that the world is capable of improving its regulation. Now, there are still problems. There are still capital movements which are not well regulated enough. There is still a shadow economy. There are still countries which seek to attract people who are looking for a way out of taxation. But there is progress as well. I think the biggest risk at the global level is that of inequality. Inequality between countries and the incredible frustration that can create. And then inequality within our own countries. And the tension that that can also create. The world needs to recognize that it has a responsibility in this regard and that the fight against inequality can also be a growth factor. How can we achieve positive results through education, through improving skills, through training? And that's why I would call for major investment. Digital technology can help us here. And it needs to happen everywhere in all of our countries, especially in those that are most vulnerable. Europe has come a long way as well. It has come through the sovereign debt crisis. It has kept the euro. It has established a banking union which means that in a case of banking failure it's no longer the taxpayer who will have to suffer. But our priority today has to be growth with the structural reforms that need to be carried out in the name of competitiveness, productivity, innovation. And here again, France is taking important decisions to move along this path. And Europe has to come along as well. I welcome the decision of the European Commission to launch a major investment programme, more than €315 billion, which states as well may be able to contribute to. I would also like to underscore while recognising its fundamental principle of independence, the actions of the European Central Bank, because it is a very important step that's been taken to inject liquidity into the market. DCB has been able to take this step because it has achieved its objective in terms of limiting inflation. With inflation close to zero, it certainly can make more liquidity available to the economy without worrying about deregulation and at the same time promoting growth. And the first effect of this decision and I'm not talking about the market's reaction here, I'm talking about the effect on the real economy is that of making investment in the economy more attractive, drawing savings away from the bonds and towards the financing of business. This is an important decision that has been made by Europe, a determination to look towards the future. We have restructured our banking system, even if there is still work to do, we've carried out reforms, even if there is still work to do, we are looking towards the future and this decision of the European Central Bank should be welcomed, but it should not stop us from continuing along the path of reform, especially in France, quite the opposite, I believe that the decision taken by the ECB really compels us to be more daring to remove breaks on growth and job creation. France will take a three-pronged approach. Firstly, promoting competitiveness. The agreement which I presented one year ago for business represents a drop in 40 billion euros on the financial burden on business and makes very important simplifications to the regulations working at work in the economy. It's a very important signal being sent to the stakeholders and investors. Further, we've seen other reforms in France to ensure that more funds could be directed towards the unemployed. We're seeing the overhaul of the labour market in France which should serve to bring our economy into line with reality, while at the same time protecting workers we are promoting apprenticeships and we have undertaken a new reform which is currently under discussion in parliament which will provide greater flexibility at work, reducing the time periods for disputes within the labour market and giving incentives to competition. France knows what its advantages are now I'm not going to go through them all with you because I'm sure that you're aware of them, but we're also aware of our limitations and we need to act to improve our position if we're going to stay in our privileged position. France has undertaken efforts to attract talent all over the world in a process of promoting innovation we've established an innovation tax credit in France to encourage greater levels of R&D we've made choices to favour three major areas of industry the energy transition the digital economy and we have also promoted efforts to increase our investments in these areas France has seen these efforts bear fruit we are the highest ranked countries for strong growing start-ups we have the strongest growing start-ups in the world but we are also aware that we need to increase our attractiveness alongside promoting exports we need to be more attractive and we need to increase our exports namely what that means is we need to be more productive. 20,000 foreign enterprises are located in France 2 million French people work in those companies and over recent months we've wanted to make efforts to improve the tax system relating to what we call those who come to work in France we want to guarantee the security of investments in France and I welcome all of those who have decided to show trust in France by investing there but France is very clear about the decisions it needs to make and how committed it needs to be to those choices we don't want to allow the retroactive taxation we've introduced rules which guarantee that no or other than all investors will have predictable taxation we have created an institution, Business France to attract even more investment to our country this is an agency which is all entrepreneurs who wish to locate their activities in France so we are investing in bringing investment to France but we also want to continue investing abroad we want to return to being a major exporting nation and we need therefore to direct our enterprises, our businesses attention to the global markets now you expect a great deal from France and you're right it needs to make the right choices in the area of security it needs to participate in risk prevention countering threats you've been paying close attention to France over the last few weeks you've seen the French people come together proud of their values and I'm sure they were deeply struck by the dignity of all those who protested who came to say that they were not afraid that they believed in their country that they were proud of who they are in all their diversity you've been able to see that in France every religion has its place we cannot accept anti-Semitic acts in France because it's France we cannot accept that Jews are killed because they are Jews in the same way that we cannot accept anti-Muslim acts and we have made all possible efforts to ensure the full protection of all of our compatriots you've seen in France the mobilization around the schools because that represents to us a sacred place for knowledge and rules to be passed along from generation to generation you have expressed your solidarity with France and I'm greatly touched by that there's no greater pride for the president of the French Republic than to see the world turn towards France with messages of support I was greatly touched to see so many heads of state heads of state and government in France who came to the demonstrations surely it is only in France where we would see so many people come out onto the streets and cheer four million people who came to see and not protest against but demonstrate in favor of France remaining as it is and by dint of that being useful to the world being capable of promoting its ideals defending its values participating fully in the pursuit of peace and security in the world at the same time France needs to be a major economic power there can be no political power without economic power there's no ability to deliver a strong message if there is no economic strength that enables that independence the recognition of these values I would strongly advocate recognizing the economy being a key factor in security so please think hard about this security without security and so we share our interests we have shared interests everybody needs to recognize that and through that take their responsibility economy is not just created for the creation of wealth but for the distribution of wealth as well it needs to be organized, regulated it needs to bring growth and hope and we the states, notably my country have to facilitate trade open markets be capable of developing the right infrastructure and at the same time ensure that we can look ahead, take a long-term view with investments that might not be profitable today but that will provide the foundation for profitability tomorrow and I'm thinking particularly about the energy transition that's the message professor that I would deliver to Davos there are times when global challenges require courageous responses there are times in history where we are faced with a choice between best and worst between good and bad where all of a sudden you're faced with a moment where things can fall one way or the other and in the fight against terrorism and the warming and the reduction of inequality at the global level a huge amount will depend on individual states but also upon you the major players in the economy what's needed from you and what you require of yourself and from your governments is a daring approach an ambitious approach a long-term approach with a clarity of vision the time has come ladies and gentlemen we share in solidarity we share in our responsibilities we need to recognize our responsibility we need to choose to innovate invest and at the same time be capable of resolving the major global issues with the goal of security, development and solidarity we have a single mission to protect and to hand on the planet to the next generations thank you very much