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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (51745)	6/28/2004 6:16:41 PM
From: NickSE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793782

French investment in Iran: Tehran traffic confirms its acceleration by Borzou Daragahi, NYT iht.com Back to Start of Article Tehran Undeterred by Iran’s pariah status in the United States and by the shortcomings of the Iranian commercial climate, French companies have been increasing their presence here in the past few years. New Peugeots and Citroëns flood crowded highways and streets. French businesspeople dine in the capital’s restaurants and work on Gulf oil platforms. Air France resumed flights to Tehran this month after a seven-year hiatus. And the carmaker Renault is about to make the first large-scale, long-term direct investment in the country by a French company since the 1979 revolution that toppled the pro-American Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. . ‘‘The French are eager to come to Iran,’’ said Bernard Hourcade, a Paris-based Iran scholar and a consultant to French companies considering doing business here. ‘‘It is the only major place in the Middle East to invest, because the other countries are more or less in a revolutionary or prerevolutionary situation.’’ Though companies from Germany and the United Arab Emirates have a bigger presence in Iran, France is catching up. . French exports to Iran have nearly doubled in five years, totaling ¤2 billion, or $2.4 billion, in 2003, according to the economic mission of the French Embassy in Tehran. And the number of French-connected companies registered with the embassy — some of which are joint ventures and some representative offices — has risen from a handful several years ago to more than 40. cont'd.....