Some concrete facts and figures that you might not be aware of

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France is one of the top two countries in Europe with Belgium for quality of life, according to International Living  2011.

It is also ranked third in Europe and fifth in the world for providing an efficient health infrastructure to meet society’s needs. This puts France well ahead of Germany (12^th) and the UK (25^th) (IMD, 2012)

France remains the leading tourist destination in the world, ahead of the United States, China* and Spain by visitor numbers. (UNWTO, June 2012)

* excluding Hong Kong and Macao

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France is also highly competitive in the following business sectors:

- Europe's largest in the aerospace and nuclear sectors (Eurostat, 2012 / PwC 2011)

- Europe's second largest agri-food and chemical industries (Eurostat, 2012 / French Chemical Industry Federation (UIC) 2012)

- Europe’s third largest ICT and pharmaceutical sectors (European Information Technology Observatory (EITO), 2011, Association of French Pharmaceutical Companies (LEEM) 2011, French Agriculture Ministry, 2010)

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In 2011, France registered nearly 700 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, making it the leading country in Europe for investment projects in industry. These investments are expected to create or maintain 27,958 jobs.  (IFA 2011 Report: Job Creating Foreign Investment in France)

On average, thirteen investment decisions in France were announced every week during the last year, swelling the ranks of more than 20,000 foreign companies already doing business in France. (IFA 2011 Report: Job Creating Foreign Investment in France)

 There were 550,000 new businesses registered in France in 2011, including 290,000 under the auto-entrepreneur status introduced in 2009. (INSEE 2012)

 Not only is France the second largest economic power in the European Union (IMF, 2012), it is also the fifth largest economy in the world, the sixth largest exporter of goods and the fourth largest exporter of services. (WTO, 2011)

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Île-de-France (Paris region) has Europe’s largest portfolio of commercial real estate: 51.5 million sq. m. in 2010 (Jones Lang Lasalle)

Commercial real estate is cheaper in Paris than in London. (DTZ, 2012)

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France is ranked second in Europe, and sixth in the world for the number of patent applications registered in 2011, with 7,664 new applications. (WIPO 2012)

A €100 million state investment fund, France Brevets (patents), has been created, targeting mainly SMEs to help them establish wide portfolios of intellectual property rights and market the resulting inventions.

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Paris, the French capital city, has been recognized as the third most innovative and creative city in the world, after Boston in the United States. (Innovation Cities TM Top 100 Index, 2011)

France has 71 innovation clusters. By joining an innovation cluster, foreign companies gain access to top research institutes as well as to partner, supplier, subcontractor and customer networks. At the close of 2011, 6,502 companies belonged to innovation clusters, of which 588 were foreign-owned firms. (French Ministry for the Economy, Finance and Industry, 2011)

Approximately, 40% of scientific output in France comes from international research partnerships (OECD, Science Technology and Industry Scoreboard, 2011)

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France has more researchers per 1,000 employees than Germany, UK and the Netherlands. (OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators, December 2011)

 France is ranked second in the world for Fields medals (mathematics) and third in Europe for the number of Nobel prizes obtained in scientific disciplines since 1950. (International Mathematical Union, 2011)

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France has renowned business schools: ESCP Europe, HEC Paris and ESSEC Business School are ranked second, fourth and fifth respectively while EM Lyon is ninth among the top 10 of the Financial Times “European Business Schools Rankings 2012”.

Maybe the berets keep French brains warm, as France is the leading European country for investment in education, spending 6.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) on education, more than the OECD average of 5.9%.It is also first in Europe for the number of higher education graduates in science and technology. (OECD, Education at a Glance, 2011)

France also boasts Europe’s second highest percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds with a university-level degree (OECD, Education at a Glance, 2011) and is the world’s third largest host country for foreign students, with 285,000 incoming students in 2010-2011. (Campus France, 2011)

It therefore makes sense that out of 392 higher education institutions with the most former students now in executive positions at Fortune Global 500 companies, 25 were French.

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Yes, the French enjoy the finer things in life, but they are also cost-conscious. France enjoys a competitive cost structure. Operating costs are lower than in most European countries, as well as in the United States and Japan. (Competitive Alternatives, KPMG’s Guide to International Business Location, 2012)
For example : 

- France boasts the cheapest electricity in Western Europe. According to Eurostat, electricity rates for manufacturers in 2011 were 0.066 €/kWh (excluding VAT) in France, compared to 0.089 €/kWh (excluding VAT) in Germany and 0.099 €/kWh (excluding VAT) in the UK.

 - Water rates in Paris are cheaper than in Frankfurt (Germany), Brussels (Belgium) or Amsterdam (The Netherlands).  (NUS Consulting 2011)

- Telecommunication rates in France are among the lowest in the European Union and network coverage is extremely reliable. (AFOM (French Mobiles Operators Association), 2010)

 - Commercial real estate is cheaper in Paris than in London. (DTZ, 2012)

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The French like to spoil foreign investors. They enjoy the best cuisine and wine – UNESCO added the “gastronomic meal of the French” to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2010 – and also the best R&D tax incentives in the world.

The OECD recognizes France as the country with the most business-friendly tax treatment of R&D. Competitive R&D tax incentives mean investors can claim up to 40% of all R&D costs.

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France is ranked fourth in Europe for hourly labor productivity after Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. (The Conference Board, 2012)

Did you also know that skilled employees in France work 44.6 hours per week on average? That’s 4.2% more than their average European counterparts (42.8 hours per week on average). (Eurostat 2012)