By Maya Nikolaeva and Julien Ponthus
PARIS (Reuters) - Foreign banks are making inquiries about moving to France if Britain leaves the European Union, according financial industry group Paris Europlace, which is busy lobbying the French government for tax breaks to boost the attractiveness of Paris.
Four years ago, the French capital took a knock as a potential financial center when newly elected President Francois Hollande threatened an extra income tax for the rich having declared the financial sector his "enemy".
Hollande has since turned more business friendly in his language and the tax at 75 percent on incomes above a million euros a year did not last.
Arnaud de Bresson, managing director of Paris Europlace, said that nowadays banks are more positively perceived by French politicians.
He says there is no doubt the government has an eye on the June 23 British referendum on whether to stay in the EU, the result of which could give an opportunity for Paris to grab some business from the City of London.
"You can be sure that there is work in progress," he said in an interview. Finance Minister Michel Sapin has said France is working in the basis that Britain will stay in the EU and that there are no plans associated with a Brexit scenario.
De Bresson also said Paris Europlace, which promotes Paris and the French financial market, did not want Britain to leave the EU.
But the group has nevertheless accelerated its talks about business opportunities in Paris, de Bresson said, adding that some of international banks were "seriously interested" in increasing their operations in Paris.
He hopes to get extra tax benefits for expatriates and lower taxes for banks he said would help Paris no matter what the result of the referendum.
Bankers in London have cast doubts on the chances of France luring much of the UK's financial industry in the event of a leave vote, citing the country's tax regime as major deterrent.
But international financial firms that use London as a gateway for their European operations are among those that could lose most Brexit.
De Bresson noted that Paris was up against international competition if some in Britain decided to move because it with Frankfurt, Dublin and Luxembourg for the role of the EU's key financial center.
But, as would be expected, he was bullish about what Paris had to offer.
"When we ask international banks in Europe what is the difference between Paris and Frankfurt, they say in Frankfurt we have our competitors, in Paris we have our clients," de Bresson said,
De Bresson said Paris already attracts international banks which have developed teams there in specific areas including custody, clearing and equity derivatives, while some run their European risk management activities from the French capital.
