Invest in France

For more information on setting up in France or read testimonials of American compagnies already conducting business in France, visit The Invest in France Agency’s website. The IFA is the national agency responsible for promoting and facilitating international investment in France :

http://www.invest-in-france.org/us

Why Choose France?

1- Competitive and Globalized

International companies choose France because of its strategic position at the heart of Europe, the largest market in the world with 500 million consumers, and because of its membership of the euro zone, which offers the advantages of a single currency in 13 different countries.

With 65 million inhabitants, France is the second-largest consumer market in Europe after Germany and the fifth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of US $2,670 billion in 2010. 80 million tourists visited the country in 2008.

23,463 foreign companies currently have a base in France, employing over 2.3 million people, double the figure only 10 years ago. Foreign companies in France produce 40% of French exports and perform more than 20% of R&D conducted in France.

2- Innovation Comes First

France is the world’s third leading country in terms of hourly productivity (ILO). Productivity per worker, on both an hourly and an annual basis, is 20% higher than the European average.

The French labor force is highly qualified and versatile and adapts easily to new methods of working.

France’s education system – free and open to all – is recognized as one of the best in the world: France has 5 business schools considered to be among the top 12 in Europe according to the Financial Times’ latest rankings (HEC Paris, INSEAD, ESCP Europe, EM Lyon and Essec).

3- France is on the Move

Since 2007, many key factors in the French economy (labor law, tax system, corporate law, innovation and economic immigration) have been subject to major reforms which are helping to improve the business environment.

These reforms have been accompanied by strong support for an enterprise culture, particularly through the introduction of a simplified legal status for the self-employed (auto-entrepreneur status).

Labor law has been made more flexible, allowing employees to work longer hours, giving businesses greater freedom to organize employee working hours and ensuring greater democracy in the workplace.

Tax cuts have been introduced both for individuals – and expatriates in particular whose tax position has been further improved – and for companies, whose new investments are now exempt from local business tax. The removal of this tax on productive investments has applied to new investment flows as well as existing investments as of the beginning of 2010.

Corporate law has been simplified and modified.