Landry touts Louisiana-France connection at economic summit in Paris | Saints

PARIS — Gov. Jeff Landry wanted to set the record straight. He felt compelled to re-establish priorities as he addressed the packed room of international corporate executives, state delegates and French dignitaries at the Louisiana Department of Economic Development’s “Louisiana Now” summit.

“This room is full, not only because the Saints are playing a game Sunday and not only because all of you ladies wanted to get a nice purse, but it is filled with investment because of the amount of economic opportunity you’re seeing in Louisiana,” Landry said.

Admittedly, it would have been easy for Landry’s message to get lost in the opulent surroundings, as he stood underneath an 18th century crystal chandelier and in front of a marble hearth and floor-to-ceiling bronze mirror at the gilded Hotel Salomon de Rothschild.

His 11-minute speech culminated a full day of business sessions at the LED event and punctuated the state’s transatlantic mission during the week, leading to kickoff of the New Orleans Saints’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

The day was anchored by a packed slate of high-level business forums designed to pitch Louisiana’s economic mission in the international capital. Across five targeted panel sessions, the summit featured sessions on frontier technology, global energy partnerships and transatlantic trade in an effort to connect Louisiana’s historical industrial strengths with next-generation global investment. Panel discussions ranged from AI investment to expanding energy initiatives to leveraging the state’s historic Francophone identity as a distinct pipeline for bilingual education, corporate partnerships and workforce recruitment.

The sessions were led and attended by a roster of heavy hitters from across city and state government and the business sector, including Susan Bourgeois, secretary, LED; Drew Marsh, CEO of Energy; Pete November, president and CEO of Ocshner Health; Michael Hecht, CEO, GNO, Inc.; Greg Rusovich, co-chairman, UTC-Transoceanic/YPO Gold Louisiana; Phillip May, president/CEO of Entergy Louisiana; Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie; Paige Carter, chief business development officer, LED; and Adam Peters, CEO, North America, Air Liquide.

Throughout the afternoon, executive exchanges brought state officials together with European founders and multinational leaders who have already poured billions into Louisiana.

“It’s been an extremely productive day,” said Walt Leger III, president and CEO of New Orleans & Co. “Having the game allows you to organize around it. We’ve had a chance to work with travel leaders and travel buyers who package travel to the United States and have also had some touch points with the NFL, as we’re obviously all working in concert to bring the next (Super Bowl) to the city. These things are really amazing opportunities, and I’m glad we’re a part of it.”

Afterward, a reception featuring French champagne and classic French hors d’oeuvres, including gougères, foie gras tartlets and smokes salmon blinis and goat cheese tartes.

Landry’s speech came on the heels of an unprecedented run of economic development in Louisiana, headlined by Meta’s multi-billion-dollar hyperscale data center development in northeast Louisiana and landmark aerospace and logistics commitments from Elon Musk’s SpaceX. He said the summit comes at a key time, when “the bond between Louisiana and France feels especially alive.” He said he believes the economic development investment in the state could rise to $350 billion by next year.

“There is so much of a history between Louisiana and France, and today, that culture of capital is being matched by unprecedented economic opportunity,” Landry said. “Those announcements are not just press releases or headlines on a (piece) of paper. They’re steel mills, digital factories and LNG facilities, which by the way, Europe desperately needs. While it is history that has brought Louisiana and France together, it is opportunity that’s going to keep us even closer.”