France Country Notebook
I. Principal industries
1. What proportion of the GNP does each industry contribute?
The leading industrial sectors in France
Percentage
Aerospace and defense
9.1%
Telecommunications (including communication satellites)
3.3%
Research and development
2.26%
Pharmaceuticals
1.52%
Chemicals
1.21%
Other
1.31%
Total
18.7%
2. Ration of private to publicly owned industries: 1.2
French public sector firms grew to account for 21% of sales, 23% of employment, 28% of value-added, 30% of exports, and 53% of the fixed assets of all French companies.
J. Foreign investment
1. Opportunities
+ A haven for innovation: Its highly sophisticated Science and Technology really makes it one of the most preferred destinations to do business in the entire world. France is ranked first, ahead of the United Kingdom and Germany, for its effective corporate tax rate on R&D operations, thanks notably to France’s research tax credit. France is also the third leading recipient of R&D activities after Germany and the United Kingdom.
+ Falling labor costs and highly skilled labour force: The French government’s “Responsibility and Solidarity Pact” means that labor costs will be reduced by €30 billion by 2016. As of the second quarter of 2014, hourly labor costs in French industry (€36.81) were lower than in Germany (€38.49).
+ Special incentives given by government: The French government provides loans, grants and special tax treatment such as introducing some tax cuts for productive investments starting from the year 2010 for those who wish to invest in France. Thanks to the tax incentives provided by the government, as many as 639 new foreign investment projects were set up in France alone in the year 2009, out of these, 42 were in the R&D sector. It has also simplified and modified its corporate law and is also giving more attention towards innovations. It is also performing a comprehensive research in simplifying the patent filing system and improving the tax credits.
+ Fully open to
1. What proportion of the GNP does each industry contribute?
The leading industrial sectors in France
Percentage
Aerospace and defense
9.1%
Telecommunications (including communication satellites)
3.3%
Research and development
2.26%
Pharmaceuticals
1.52%
Chemicals
1.21%
Other
1.31%
Total
18.7%
2. Ration of private to publicly owned industries: 1.2
French public sector firms grew to account for 21% of sales, 23% of employment, 28% of value-added, 30% of exports, and 53% of the fixed assets of all French companies.
J. Foreign investment
1. Opportunities
+ A haven for innovation: Its highly sophisticated Science and Technology really makes it one of the most preferred destinations to do business in the entire world. France is ranked first, ahead of the United Kingdom and Germany, for its effective corporate tax rate on R&D operations, thanks notably to France’s research tax credit. France is also the third leading recipient of R&D activities after Germany and the United Kingdom.
+ Falling labor costs and highly skilled labour force: The French government’s “Responsibility and Solidarity Pact” means that labor costs will be reduced by €30 billion by 2016. As of the second quarter of 2014, hourly labor costs in French industry (€36.81) were lower than in Germany (€38.49).
+ Special incentives given by government: The French government provides loans, grants and special tax treatment such as introducing some tax cuts for productive investments starting from the year 2010 for those who wish to invest in France. Thanks to the tax incentives provided by the government, as many as 639 new foreign investment projects were set up in France alone in the year 2009, out of these, 42 were in the R&D sector. It has also simplified and modified its corporate law and is also giving more attention towards innovations. It is also performing a comprehensive research in simplifying the patent filing system and improving the tax credits.
+ Fully open to
References: affairs, The. 'A Leading Foreign Direct Investment Destination (05.11.13) '. France Diplomatie :: The French Ministry of Foreign affairs. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. Cia.gov,. 'The World Factbook '. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. FocusEconomics | Economic Forecasts from the World 's Leading Economists,. 'France Inflation - News, Data, Forecasts And Charts '. N.p., 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. Heritage.org,. 'France Economy: Facts, Population, GDP, Unemployment, Business, Trade '. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. Tradingeconomics.com,. 'Euro Exchange Rate | EUR/USD | France | 1957-2015 | Data | Chart | Calendar '. N.p., 2015. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.