Paris and London’s wealth loss is Dubai’s gain

SPRINGTIME is here in Paris. Cafes are bustling, the economy is showing signs of improvement and a shiny (stair-free) metro expansion is making the 15-minute city even more accessible. Yet there’s also the faintly audible sound of wealth on the move: Two locals inform me of plans to leave, one to Dubai and the other to Switzerland.

In a similar vein to London’s fleeing non-doms and Brexit banking exiles, Paris is going through its own dose of ras-le-bol fiscal – the moment when the proverbial tax straw breaks the camel’s back – in President Emmanuel Macron’s twilight years. Taxes are going up on big business and the wealthy; Marine Le Pen is the presidential contender to beat in 2027; parliament is gridlocked and still fighting over pension reforms that tore the country apart in 2023.

After an extraordinary run for Paris as the euro area’s investment-banking hub of choice, with the number of French financiers on seven-figure salaries almost doubling in four years, hiring plans are being put on ice.