Business

Your new homeland

Entrepreneurs and skilled employees from all over the world, France is made for you!

With its openness to the world and its policy of welcoming all kinds of skills, France is determined to attract investors and support their development across the country. France is at the cutting edge of innovation and development for the industries of the future, such as clean technology and green finance, which are both set to drive growth in the coming decades.

France is a globally attractive business destination

France is recognized for the quality of its business environment. In 2016, it was one of Europe’s leading recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI), with 1,117 decisions in its favor, up 16% from the previous year.

More than 25,000 foreign subsidiaries are established in France, where they employ around two million people. In choosing France, they are joining a market of over 500 million European consumers and a country with a presence, through overseas territories, on four continents.

France’s complete, dynamic ecosystem is ideal for producing tomorrow’s innovations

Now more than ever, France’s key structural advantages make it one of Europe’s most competitive countries for science and innovation. France is the second largest economy in the euro zone – with the highest demographic growth in Europe and a highly trained, productive workforce – and currently leads the way for R&D intensity. France enjoys a uniquely advantageous location on the European continent, with high-quality infrastructure, a robust financial system, and a flourishing “Tech” ecosystem (over 10,000 startups as well as the world’s largest business incubator, Station F, in Paris). The excellent quality of life on offer in France completes its attractiveness as an investment location.

France’s main players in innovation and R&D – businesses, innovation clusters, research organizations and technical centers – work together closely.

In the more specific field of renewable energy, the Energy Transition Institutes (ITE) are interdisciplinary platforms in the low-carbon energy sector, bringing together skills in industry and public research to form a public-private joint investment approach.

In addition to all these structural advantages, entrepreneurs coming to France will discover an environment to help them achieve their targets and make a success of their projects.

Working together to make France the global leader in the green economy

France’s leading companies in the clean technology and energy markets include Air Liquide, EDF, Engie, Saint-Gobain, Schneider Electric and Veolia. Various multinationals, such as General Electric, Siemens and Cisco, have already chosen France as the location for their global resource centers for renewable energy and sustainable transport, or are taking part in smart city projects.

France is also the only European country that manufactures lithium-ion battery cells on a large scale, thanks to the Saft Group, while in Levisys it has one of the most promising companies in the world in the flywheel energy storage sector.

Investment needs in the energy transition sectors are some of the highest in Europe, due to the ambitious public policy targets involving reducing fossil fuel consumption, increasing renewable energy production, and more generally reducing greenhouse gases.

All sectors are encouraged to take part in the green revolution. Personal transport and city development are due to change significantly, making France an example for the world.

These ambitions are opening up a future market to companies worldwide!