France has reached the highest level of attractiveness in 2022, as evidenced by the data on foreign investments published by Business France.
The report notes 1,725 foreign investment projects, marking a 7% growth over the previous year. These projects created or maintained 58,810 jobs, an increase of 31% over 2021.
Where do the investments come from?
The United States is once again the first investor country in France, with 16% of projects and 29% of jobs registered in 2022. Most of the investments (65%) however come from European countries. In fact, among the major investor are Germany, the United Kingdom, and Belgium.
Focus on the industry sector
Around 26% of investment decisions were related to manufacturing activities, as were 30% of jobs announced. An increase of 13% for the sector reveals France’s ability to overcome a complex period, linked first to the health crisis, then to the energy and war crisis, and to attract foreign investments.
The general manager of Business France, Laurent Saint-Martin, credits these data to the reform system initiated by the country in 2017, “particularly in terms of taxation, around labour law, which has made us considerably change scale in terms of global attractiveness”.
Investments across all areas
France’s appeal extends to numerous sectors, including research and development. Business France recorded a 23% increase in the number of R&D projects compared to 2021 and a 53% growth in jobs. The agency highlights that France is the foremost country among OECD nations when it comes to providing public funding and tax incentives for business research and development.
And foreign investment actions involve not only the main French cities but the entire national territory. Approximately 74% of manufacturing projects were directed to municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, as well as 71% of related jobs.
Sources: businessfrance.fr, euractiv.com
