France's new top envoy in Taiwan made his first visit to Kaohsiung, a positive sign for the city's push to attract foreign industry and investment.

• Kaohsiung's mayor Chen Chi-mai pitched the city's shift to a chip-centered economy, including TSMC's 2-nanometer plant and new advanced packaging plans.
• French envoy Frédéric Laplanche said French firms are already working in Kaohsiung on chips, shipping and logistics, clean energy and transport.
• It was his first trip to the city in over a decade, and he said the changes there stood out.
• Both sides visited a new French-curriculum school in the city, only the second of its kind in Taiwan.
• A French culture festival the city has co-hosted for three years has drawn more than 570,000 visits.

Outlook: Expect deeper Taiwan-France ties in chips, aerospace and education, with Kaohsiung positioning itself as the southern hub.