Industry attractiveness: France ranks #1 and Atlantic France among the top regions

EY revealed its barometer of European countries’ industry attractiveness. France remains #1 with 339 establishments and expansion projects led by internationally-owned companies in 2018. 8% of these projects were located in Atlantic France.

The appeal of an economy can be measured in different ways. The accounting firm EY chose to base it’s industry attractiveness barometer on the number of foreign direct investments in new subsidiaries or extensions.

Like in 2017, France ranked first in 2018 with 339 projects. Turkey (203) and Germany (152) are also on the podium, whereas the United Kingdom was clearly impacted by the Brexit process and drops to 4th position (140 projects, -35% compared to 2017).

Moreover, the study integrated a survey among 210 executives involved in international investment decisions. 70% of them declared they were confident about the industrial future of France.

Aeronautics, sailing and healthcare in the leading industries

On a national scale, Atlantic France appeared in 5th position: 8% of the projects were located in our region. This attractiveness can be explained by the local importance of some “premium industries” as they are called by EY: aeronautics, advanced manufacturing, biotechnologies, waste and renewables…

The growth of these sectors is directly linked to R&D investments and facilities. The EY barometer points out France’s progression in 2018: the country ranked #1 in Europe with 144 R&D centers, which was more than Germany and UK together.

5 T words to go further

EY ends its study by providing strategic recommendations with 5 words starting with “T” which they consider as “attractiveness game changers”: Talent (attracting and training tomorrow’s workers), Trade (aiming at the global economy), Technology (investing in high-level R&D, especially in smart manufacturing and tech), Tax (still significantly high in France) and Transition (in particular to a greener industry).