2019 barometer of business confidence: France takes 2d place in Europe

Despite a relatively constrained economic and political climate in Europe in 2018, France confirmed its appeal by chalking up an increase of 1% in foreign investment. These results shook up the list of European winners: France snatched the second spot from Germany and now ranks just behind the United Kingdom in the number of incoming international investment projects.

Leading European destination for R&D and manufacturing

With 144 new R&D investment projects in 2018, France achieved a record 85% increase in projects related to research and development, surpassing the combined performance of the United Kingdom (74 projects) and Germany (64). It also leads the European ranking in new international manufacturing projects (339), ahead of Turkey (203) and Germany (152).

Paris and the Ile-de-France region are at the head of the pack

According to a poll carried out by EY, 80% of investors view France as a high-quality destination. With 274 projects, Ile-de-France remains the region with the greatest pull, followed by Auvergne Rhône-Alpes and Hauts de France (135 and 117 projects, respectively). With respect to cities, Paris remains the most attractive metro area in Europe for the second year in a row, ahead of London.

To maintain the momentum …

Still, 47% of the polled investors would like to see France intensify its efforts to simplify and modernize. Looking farther ahead, 37% say that France will have to raise levels of education and skills if it wants to maintain its competitive position in the global economy.