EY barometer on French attractiveness

One encouraging figure is the bouncing number of job announcements by foreign investors in France: +48% in a year. Even though France ranks #3 in terms of job creating investments after the UK and Germany, France reveals an outstanding jump of 31% in international implantations compared to 2016, while the UK and Germany demonstrate a lower growth of 6%.

France is particularly performative in industrial implantations, holding the first position in Europe since 15 years. France is also ranking #2 for decision centres and #3 for R&D implantations.

Above all, France stands out in the sector of innovation: 50% of economic actors think innovation is the main asset of French market on the international scene. French Tech and French sense of entrepreneurship are particularly valued by investors, acknowledging the strength of the start-up ecosystem in France.

Hence Paris is now the new first attractive capital for foreign investors, superseding London with a gain of 10 percentage points between 2017 and 2018. This phenomenon can be both explained by the successful measures undertaken by the French government to support start-up creation and innovation, and by a pervasive post-Brexit effect leading European investors to choose Paris over London.

This is especially true for Nordic investors, who traditionally select the British capital as their first choice, but are now turning towards Paris with a fresh look. In 2017, prominent start-ups decided to settle in France, such as Virta, a Finnish rising star helping electric vehicle drivers finding charging stations; the Swedish e-health leader Kry ; or Freespee, a Swedish IoT start-up modernising business and consumers relations.

Consult the full EY barometer

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