The Secretive French Agency Blindsiding Global Investors

“Choose France,” President Emmanuel Macron tells the investors he gathers each year to the Palace of Versailles.

So last year Flowserve Corp. was surprised to find its investment plans blocked by the French state itself.

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The Texas-based company, which makes parts for industrial machinery, was trying to buy a Canadian group with an offshoot in France while Macron — a former investment banker — is redoubling efforts to attract foreign capital and spur an industrial renaissance.

But watching over the negotiations was a secretive government agency that’s become more ...