In the latest France industrial attractiveness survey published by EY in June 2019, France remained in first place for industrial attractiveness in Europe. In 2018, according to EY’s figures, it welcomed 339 foreign investment decisions to create or extend production units, versus 152 in Germany and 140 in the United Kingdom.
On January 13, 2020, EY published the results of its survey specifically on the question of France’s industrial attractiveness. This survey, conducted with 210 company directors involved in international investment decisions, shows that a large majority of them (70%) are optimistic about the outlook for industry in France. However, this large proportion is lower than in 2018, when 77% declared themselves to be confident.
The study underlines that in some sectors, such as aerospace, naval construction and agri-food, French industrial leaders are attracting foreign investors looking to integrate production chains in these sectors. The level of state support and the skill of the workforce are also presented as advantages for France’s attractiveness. For foreign investors, the leading industrial sectors which will carry French growth in the coming years are the digital sector, energy, green technology and business services.
However, they put forward several points to watch which are needed to improve French competitiveness, such as education and training (37%), support for SMEs (36%), decrease in labor costs (32%), support for high-tech industries and innovation (32%), as well as reduced tax pressure (26%).
Read the results of the France industrial attractiveness survey (in French)