Belgium keenly following French presidential election due to close ties with neighbour

The first round of the French presidential elections ended this weekend with Emmanuel Macron, the outgoing president, and Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally finishing top of the polls. Macron, who scored better than most analysts and polls had predicted, winning 28% of the vote, will face off against Le Pen, who won 23%, in the second round decider on 24 April.

It's an election the whole of Europe is watching closely, with the support for Le Pen and her policies causing concern beyond France’s borders, reports RTBF.

Belgium, of course, is a country which shares a border with France and many other things, including the language spoken by 40% of Belgians. The 620 kilometre border that separate the country from its southern neighbour make the latter a privileged partner. The economic ties between the two nations are very close and the Belgian government will be keeping a close eye on the economic and industrial policy that the next French president will pursue.

Belgium and France close business partners

According to data from the Belgian Agency for Foreign Trade, France is the second largest customer for Belgian companies. In 2021, Belgium exported goods and services to France for an amount of €65.7 billion. The top three Belgian exports to France consist of chemicals, minerals and machinery and equipment.

In the other direction, France is Belgium's third largest supplier. In 2021, Belgium imported €41.2 billion of goods from France. Belgium imports mainly chemicals, transport goods, equipment and machinery.

For France, Belgium is its fifth largest customer. Around 46,000 French companies export to Belgium, which is France's fifth largest supplier.

For French companies, Belgium is a welcoming country. Some 20% of French direct investments are made in Belgium and nearly 4,500 French companies have established themselves here. They provide employment for 143,000 people. BNP Bank, with its subsidiary BNP-Paribas-Fortis, Thalys, Carrefour, Engie and AXA are just a few examples.

Conversely, 3,700 Belgian companies are established in France. It's therefore the first country to which Belgian companies turn to when creating a subsidiary. Some 51% of Belgian companies' investments go to France, making Belgium the fifth largest investor in France.

While it's not surprising that French people run subsidiaries of French companies in Belgium, such as Carrefour, French bosses also run Belgian companies. The director of Proximus, Guillaume Boutin is French. Frenchman Xavier Desvaux runs Delhaize Belgium and Franco-Moroccan Ilham Kadri  is CEO of Solvay. And they're not the only ones.

As of June 30, 2021, there were also nearly 38,000 French nationals crossing the border to work in Belgium. Conversely, there were 'only' 8,420 Belgians in the opposite direction.

French nationals in Brussels queued to vote on Sunday

And then there are those who live permanently in each other’s countries. Nearly 140,000 Belgians are registered as living in France, while around 170,000 French people live in Belgium. Almost 67,000 of those live in Brussels and many of them were out in force at the weekend to vote in the first round of the presidential elections.

The electoral offices in Brussels and Heysel were overwhelmed with French voters with huge queues reported at both. The Heysel office was the busiest as it also catered for French people from the entire province of Flemish Brabant. The French Consulate on Boulevard du Régent offered an alternative to those wanting to vote in the city.