Success stories
France, the 3rd leading destination for inward FDI in 2006, is also the 3rd least expensive OECD country in terms of overall set-up costs for new businesses. France has 18,000 subsidiaries of international companies. There are many examples of successful business developments in France.
Huawei Technologies Co.
The Chinese telecom equipment supplier Huawei set up its first site in France in 2003 and currently has 150 employees.
A state-of-the-art training centre was opened in Suresnes (Ile-de-France region) to provide employees with technical training courses and includes a training lab and training areas.
Huawei has opened two new R&D centres with 350 new positions to be created over the next three to five years, tripling its initial number of employees.
- Huawei Technologies Co. [pdf - 83 Ko]
- Other languages
EasyJet in Lyon and in Roissy CDG
EasyJet sees great potential for development in France. The British airline thus decided to strengthen its presence in the country with its announcement at the end of 2007 with the opening of two new bases at Paris Charles de Gaulle (130 jobs) and Lyon Saint-Exupéry (80 jobs).
The establishment of two new bases creates 210 direct jobs and represents an investment of 600 million euros over four years. The Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport base is the company’s 18th European base.
- EasyJet in Lyon and in Roissy CDG [pdf - 84 Ko]
- Other languages
Danisco in Dangé-Saint-Romain
The Danish food ingredient manufacturer Danisco recently announced the creation of a research centre near the town of Tours employing a total of 152 people.
In November 2007, Danisco began the construction of this R&D center for its fermentation media division situated beside its current production site for the agro-food industry.
- Danisco in Dangé-Saint-Romain [pdf - 83 Ko]
- Other languages
Cinquième Saison in Châlons-en-Champagne
British company Cinquième Saison, a subsidiary of the Icelandic agrofoods group Bakkavör, specializes in the prepackaged salad and prepared fresh product industry.
5e Saison constructed its fourth production site for prepackaged salad production and prepared fruit products next to Châlons-en-Champagne, specifically in the business park Recy-Saint-Martin. The prepackaged salad specialist will invest close to 7 million euros, resulting in the creation of 300 jobs.
- Cinquième Saison in Châlons-en-Champagne [pdf - 85 Ko]
- Other languages
Modern Engineering in Saint-Etienne
The American group Modern Engineering announced in September 2006 its plan to open a new facility in the Metrotech technology park, near Saint-Etienne. This is the group’s first development project located in Western Europe. It will lead to the creation of 165 new specialized jobs within 3 years.
- Modern Engineering in Saint-Etienne [pdf - 169 Ko]
- Other languages
Publications
- 10 reasons to invest in France
[ppt - 5 Mo] - 10 Myths About France
[ppt - 526 Ko] - France welcomes investment and talent from all over the world
[pdf - 3 Mo] - The reality of international reports and scoreboards
[pdf - 1 Mo]