French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stressed on Thursday that Korea will act as a strategic foothold for France to expand its presence in the all-important Asian market.

“We see strong growth potential in Asia. We want to find more business partners in the region,” Ayrault said at a meeting with the French-Korean business community here at a Seoul hotel. “The Korean market is expected to pave the way.”

He acknowledged that France and other European countries have suffered from the prolonged financial crisis, but also made it clear that the European Union has handled the situation effectively.

“Like other continents, Europe has experienced some difficulties and made efforts to overcome wisely. The European Union is still the best economic zone with 500 million consumers,” he said.

Ayrault noted that France has launched a variety of reform policies across sectors, including the labor market, pension and welfare systems and future growth, saying: “A grand reform has started.”

For France carrying out the new missions, especially on future prosperity, he said a mutual partnership with Korea can play a key role.

He said some 250 French companies were already operating Korean units ― ranked fourth out of European countries ― while Korean big names such as Samsung and LG are expanding investment in France.

“The free trade agreement has also opened up more business opportunities for both countries, especially in the sectors of R&D and information technology,” he said.

Following the FTA signed in 2011, France has become Korea’s second-largest trading partner in Europe.

“A growing number of Korean and French companies are joining hands to enter the Chinese market together. That also would give a good opportunity for smaller enterprises.”

As part of his recent Asian tour, the French prime minister arrived in Seoul Thursday and met President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Chung Hong-won to discuss ways to expand bilateral trade and investment and other exchanges during a day-long visit.

Four ministers have traveled with him, including Veterans Affairs Minister Kader Arif and Fleur Pellerin, minister for small and medium enterprises, who was born in Korea.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)