The French President told Bloomberg: ‘I would be extremely surprised, but I am still waiting for confirmation.’ This reaction follows comments made at the end of April by TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné, who was considering a primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange due to the growth in North American shareholding

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his disagreement on Monday 13 May with the possibility of French oil giant TotalEnergies moving its main listing from Paris to New York. In response to a question from Bloomberg about his views on the matter, he said, ‘Not at all, and I would be very surprised, but I’m waiting for confirmation.’

The affair began with unexpected statements by TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné, also to Bloomberg. In an interview published on 26 April, he raised the possibility of a primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. With almost half of its shareholder base made up of North American institutional investors, he explained that this would meet the need to make it easier for American investors to access the company’s shares, while asserting that the head office would remain in Paris.

The main argument seems to be the growth of the American shareholder base, which is prompting the company to consider greater accessibility for them. Faced with this consideration, the Minister for the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire had already announced at the beginning of May that he would oppose the move from the Paris Bourse.

On Monday, Emmanuel Macron also stressed the need for a genuine European internal market. He noted that key sectors such as energy, finance and telecommunications do not yet benefit from a single market, which he believes would be much more efficient.