Paris and Berlin come into contention for London business

The Paris region is sending letters to British executives. German politicians have paid for billboards in London to promote Berlin. Dublin plans an advertising campaign and Milan wants to be the home of the banking regulator in Europe.

Less than two weeks after the United Kingdom decided in a referendum to leave the EU, major cities of the 27 remaining countries of the bloc are intensifying their efforts to win the London business, there are times the dominant financial center of the region.

"We need to keep the elegance: the United Kingdom is a great nation and our friend," said French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, an audience made up of financiers in Paris on Wednesday.

"But we are not naive. We are in a competition and we need to be available to companies and their employees. "

The statements underscore a widespread view that, regardless of the companies and executives whether or not prepared to change, governments need to try to attract them or run the risk of seeing the jobs go elsewhere. In the markets, the pound's fall to a new level, $ 1.28, the lowest in 31 years, reflecting the pessimism about the short-term outlook for the UK.

Proposal for Dublin

In Dublin, the Irish are preparing for an advertising campaign in Europe and the USA. The initiative will not make explicit reference to Brexit but will highlight the advantages of the country as the fact that the businesses are closed in English.

Similarly, the Paris region began to prepare long before the British go to the polls. Valérie Pécresse, head of the regional government, sent letters to 4,000 executives of companies of all sizes extolling the advantages of the French capital.

Listing everything from the location and infrastructure to the skilled labor and international services, the letter argues that companies change their operations to the French region.

In the financial district of London, on Tuesday, a truck was seen with an ad with the phrase "Dear start-ups, Keep calm and move to Berlin" ( "Guys startups remain calm and change to Berlin") . French and German politicians have debated about whether Frankfurt or Paris should take the EUR clearing business in London.

Smaller neighbor of France, Luxembourg began this month to a promotional campaign of large-scale to entice foreigners to go "to his career in the financial district of Luxembourg."

In Italy, while the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi tries to find a solution to the banking crisis in the country, the city of Milan seeks to become the headquarters of the European Banking Authority.