The recently held “Choose France” summit—an annual forum where President Emmanuel Macron invites global CEOs and investors to the Élysée Palace—has taken on greater geopolitical significance.
Far from being merely a business pitch, this year’s summit (the eighth edition) reflects a deeper recalibration of France’s economic and strategic priorities. Since its inception in 2018, the Summit has attracted over €87.8 billion in investments and contributed to the creation of more than 163 000 jobs. The 2025 edition of the summit welcomed 400 foreign participants from 46 countries, resulting in the announcement of 53 investment projects valued at €40.8 billion. These investments are projected to generate nearly 13 000 direct and indirect jobs.
With growing instability in Francophone Africa, particularly the rise of anti-French, pan-Africanist leaders such as Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré, France finds itself increasingly unwelcome in regions it once treated as spheres of economic extraction and political influence. Against this backdrop, Macron is now intensifying efforts to court global capital, fast-track industrialisation, and reposition France as a serious player in the high-stakes arena of innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital transformation.
This pivot is not just about France. It represents a broader realignment in the post-colonial economic architecture—and one that carries important implications for Caribbean nations, especially as they grapple with questions of development finance, technological readiness, and geopolitical autonomy.
From extraction to innovation: France’s changing global playbook
For decades, France’s economic influence in Africa was underpinned by what critics called a form of neo-colonialism—preferential access to natural resources, currency arrangements like the CFA franc, and a network of loyalist regimes. But leaders like Traoré in Burkina Faso and Assimi Goïta in Mali are dismantling that legacy. Military bases are being expelled, diplomatic ties are being severed, and narratives of African sovereignty are rising.
Unable to extract the same level of economic rent from Africa, France is being forced to invest in its own economic transformation. Macron’s administration has now positioned innovation and industrial sovereignty as central pillars of France’s economic future. The Choose France summit is emblematic of this shift—a strategy to attract hundreds of billions in foreign direct investment (FDI) and build advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure, and AI ecosystems within its borders.
France is trying to catch up with the United States and China in the technological race. It is also responding to the EU’s demand for strategic autonomy, to be less dependent on external supply chains and foreign platforms. But what does this have to do with the Caribbean?
The Caribbean’s strategic blind spot
For Caribbean nations, the implications are profound. The global north’s transition from extractive to innovation-led growth strategies will reshape the international landscape of aid, trade, and investment. France’s turn inward may signal reduced engagement in traditional development aid models and greater emphasis on commercial partnerships, digital alliances, and innovation diplomacy.
This means Caribbean countries can no longer rely on historical relationships with European powers for soft loans and budgetary aid. Instead, they must compete in a digital-first global economy where investment flows to those who are technologically prepared, strategically located, and geopolitically aligned.
Yet, the region remains largely unprepared. Most Caribbean economies lag in AI readiness, digital literacy, R&D investment, and innovation infrastructure. If the Caribbean continues to rely on traditional sectors like tourism and offshore finance without a robust innovation agenda, it will be left behind in the next phase of global development.
The danger of missing the innovation dividend
As France, Germany, and other former colonial powers shift towards high-tech growth strategies, there is a real risk that the Caribbean will become economically irrelevant in their future calculus. Without competitive tech ecosystems, countries like Saint Lucia, Barbados, and Jamaica may find themselves bypassed in global supply chains, excluded from AI partnerships, and sidelined in international trade negotiations.
Moreover, the absence of regional investment in AI, machine learning, and smart infrastructure means that the Caribbean will likely become a consumer of imported innovation rather than a producer—deepening dependency and eroding national sovereignty.
France’s pivot should be a wake-up call. The post-COVID recovery and the AI revolution are creating a new global development frontier. Countries that fail to adapt will not only miss out on productivity gains and job creation, they will lose geopolitical relevance.
A moment for Caribbean strategic reimagination
Rather than lament the geopolitical withdrawal of France or other Western powers, Caribbean nations must use this moment to reimagine their development strategies. The pivot must be away from passive aid dependence and toward assertive economic transformation.
This means:
- Investing in Digital Sovereignty: Creating local data centres, digital education hubs, and regional tech platforms to ensure the Caribbean controls its digital destiny.
- Forming Innovation Alliances: Partnering with emerging economies like India, Brazil, or even African nations to build mutual capacity in AI, fintech, and climate tech.
- Attracting Purpose-Driven FDI: Incentivising investors not just to extract but to co-create through joint ventures, IP-sharing agreements, and local employment guarantees.
- Developing a Caribbean AI-Readiness Index: To benchmark where each country stands in terms of talent, infrastructure, and institutional support for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
A global pivot, a regional test
Macron’s Choose France summit is more than a French economic forum. It is a symbol of the shifting rules of global engagement. As France looks inward to fortify its technological future, Caribbean nations must, too, reposition towards innovation, resilience, and strategic autonomy.
Macron has chosen France—and rightly so. But this prompts a far more urgent question for the Caribbean: Who is choosing us? If we do not choose ourselves— through bold policy, regional unity, and visionary investment—we will continue to be shaped by others’ priorities rather than our own aspirations.
In an age where Africa is shaking off colonial remnants and Europe is fortifying its economic sovereignty, the Caribbean must ask itself a defining question: Will we watch from the sidelines, or will we rewrite our role in the global order?
The moment for bold leadership and strategic investment is now. France has chosen France. The Caribbean must now choose itself.
Beautiful written article. You rightly suggest the Caribbean must form partnerships with other immerging economies especially on the African continent. The global shift is very evident and small island nations are forever playing catch-up with more powerful, economically viable countries. Time to end this centuries long dependance on foreign aid and handouts. Our economic future should be guided by Sir Arthur Lewis’s economic model for small island developing states, educating our populace in all forms of specialties so we can do it for ourselves, aligning economically and culturally with Africa where a vast amount of the natural resources are still found. We can do it if we put things in place now. We can’t always depend on tourism, which is an industry that is weather dependent. The government will do well to hid your well balanced view on a shifting global order