In France, according to INSEE, there are 17,500 companies under foreign control, 1% of all our companies. They employ 2.2 million people and contribute 16% of GDP. Hence the importance of continuing to play this attractiveness card in France. For more than 20 years, the EY firm has interviewed several thousand managers of foreign companies in more than 50 countries, to monitor these foreign investments in Europe.
France attracts few new creations
Before Covid, France had achieved the feat of overtaking the United Kingdom and Germany in terms of its economic attractiveness. And retains this first place again in 2024, in a context of loss of speed of investments by foreign companies in Europe. These projects are down 4% (5,594 projects). And for the first time in 5 years, France also sees a drop of 5% compared to 2023. But keeps a number, 1194, close to the year 2019.
Real attraction of France or catch-up effect in recent years? For Yannick Cabrol, who monitors this barometer at EY, the question may arise. France attracts only a few new businesses, 71 compared to 88 in the United Kingdom and even if the jobs generated are still strong (39,773 in 2023 compared to 38,000 in 2022) they…
