Over 1,700 new foreign investment projects were identified in France in 2022 – a new national record – which should secure or create more than 58,000 jobs, according to findings published by public agency Business France on Monday.
Business France’s report shows a 7% increase in foreign investment projects compared to 2021, which was already a record year. These 1,725 projects will either create or maintain 58,810 jobs. The company is also responsible for prospecting and welcoming international investment in France.
This is, according to the Economy Ministry, the “highest level of attractiveness” of France. The majority of investors are from European countries, 65%. With 280 projects, investors from the United States are just ahead of the Germans (256) and the British (176).
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More than a quarter of the new investments concern the industrial sector, an increase of 13%. Business France also notes a significant increase (+23%) in research and development (R&D) projects and the jobs they will generate (+53%) compared to 2021. France is ‘the leading OECD country in terms of public funding and tax incentives for business R&D’, the agency points out.
Director General of Business France, Laurent Saint-Martin, a former member of parliament, told L’Express that these figures could be explained by the reforms carried out by France since 2017, “particularly in terms of taxation, around labour law, which has made us considerably change scale in terms of global attractiveness”.
He is also pleased with France’s “resilience” in the face of crises, particularly the health crisis, the energy crisis and, finally, the crisis linked to the war in Ukraine.
However, he warned of the possible consequences of the American Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), arguing that a national and European response is needed.
(Davide Basso | EURACTIV.fr)
Source: euractiv.com
