Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, April 24, 2024 in Paris (AFP/Archives/Thomas SAMSON)
And five: France has retained for the fifth consecutive year its crown as the most attractive country for foreign investment projects, according to an annual barometer from the EY firm published a few days before the Choose France summit.
With 1,194 site establishment or extension projects announced last year, foreign companies favored France more than the United Kingdom and Germany, which respectively concentrated 985 and 733 announcements, show EY statistics at appear Thursday.
The number of projects fell by 5% compared to the previous year, but they concentrated more job creations, numbering 39,773 – a figure up 4% compared to 2022
“Yes, the French economy is solid. Yes, it is attractive. And no, it’s not a coincidence!”, reacted the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire in a statement sent to AFP.
“The stability of our supply policy is unanimously welcomed by investors: we will not deviate from it,” he continued, citing several upcoming reforms concerning unemployment insurance and the simplification of business life. .
The government has prioritized its attractiveness in recent years, against the backdrop of the desire to reindustrialize the country in the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and to attract financial companies after Brexit, through reforms related to the labor market and taxation.
The emphasis on reindustrialization seems to be bearing fruit, with 530 factory extension or installation projects having been announced last year in France, far ahead of European competitors, and more than double the projects announced in 2015 in France, shows EY.
– “Reindustrialization” –
“We dare to talk about reindustrialization. It’s real”, comments to AFP Marc Lhermitte, the author of this study showing that industrial projects are also accompanied by more than 20,000 job creations, again at the first place on the continent.
“When we know a few years ago to what extent there was a difference in terms of image and attractiveness of Germany versus France in industry, in 2023 there will be six times more investments industrialists in France” than in its neighbor, rejoiced the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade Franck Riester to journalists.
Among the French qualities recognized by foreign investors are the quality of the workforce and the legal and regulatory environment, according to the barometer published a few days before the annual Choose France summit on May 13, an annual high mass in during which many international business leaders are invited to Paris and some announce investment projects.
At the low end, energy prices and cost competitiveness are seen as handicaps.
Despite its status as champion in terms of number of projects, France, on the other hand, suffers as in the previous year from the number of jobs created on average per project, at 35 compared to 49 in Germany, 61 in the United Kingdom and 299 in Spain, in top of the ranking.
One of the reasons is the fact that France is above all the place where investors carry out site extensions, more than projects starting from scratch, notes EY: two thirds of the projects announced in France are extensions, compared to a quarter only in UK and Germany. Greater London also holds its own against Ile-de-France when it comes to the location of head offices.
The executive rather wants to see in these figures a reason for satisfaction: “Where we have industrial sites, project leaders decide to expand them, modernize them, decarbonize them”, comments an Elysee source.
The EY barometer comes a month after that of the Kearney firm which showed that France was placed in Europe behind the United Kingdom and Germany, according to a survey carried out among 516 business leaders in 30 countries concerning their intentions to investments over three years.
Beyond France, the EY barometer reports a clear drop in American investments in Europe, attributed “without doubt” to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a major plan launched by American President Joe Biden and which provides subsidies for business projects linked to the climate transition.
© 2024 AFP
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends using the buttons below.
