US businesses getting more optimistic over French economy

PARIS (AP) - U.S. businesses are more eager to invest and hire in France than they have been in years - but want to see more progress first in President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to reduce labor costs and simplify taxes.

Macron's pro-business promises and a long-awaited uptick in the French economy are making U.S. investors more optimistic, according to a report released Thursday by the American Chamber of Commerce in France.

That's a big shift.

But turning that optimism into jobs will depend on Macron's labor reforms, the report said.

Robert Vassoyan, chief executive of Cisco in France, said: "The key now is not to disappoint."

The report showed similar hope across sectors.

U.S. companies employ about half a million people in France and are among the country's biggest investors.