7 assets

of the French market

7^th largest economy in the world (nominal GDP), France has an attractive economy for foreign investors. Since 2019, France has retained its leading position in Europe in terms of the number of foreign investment projects; in 2024, France again welcomed 1,025 projects, ahead of the United Kingdom (853) and Germany (608)*.

It has benefited in part from the uncertainties surrounding Brexit but above all from structural reforms to improve its economic competitiveness.

In 2020, 32% of executives perceived an improvement in France’s attractiveness (50% stable). In the March 2025 survey, 49% of executives of foreign-owned companies believed that France’s attractiveness was improving. For 28%, it remained stable, despite the geopolitical context.

In 2023, 17,500 foreign-controlled companies employ 2.2 million people in France. This represents 13% of the workforce. They account for nearly 35% of French exports.

Not only is France the second largest market in Europe, with approximately 68.6 million inhabitants (as of January 1, 2025). Its geographical location also makes it a destination of choice to access EMEA markets.

*Source: Baromètre EY 2025

France’s appeal also lies in the quality of its training and the skill and reliability of its workforce.

French employees are among the most productive in the world. France still ranks 9th worldwide in terms of hourly productivity, ahead of the United Kingdom (which ranks 11^th). According to a Kantar Public/Business France survey, 86% of foreign business leaders in France consider the training and qualifications of the French workforce to be attractive.

This appeal stems from the quality and variety of the training on offer. In 2025, France has 25 programs ranked among the world’s top 100 master’s degrees in management (Financial Times ranking). In 2024, France had approximately 1.2 million engineers and scientists, more than 1 million of whom were actively working.

In 2023, there will be approximately 513,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees working in R&D in France, including around 312,000 in the private sector and 201,500 in the public sector. This corresponds to around 12 researchers per 1,000 workers, making France the sixth most research-intensive country in the world. The CNRS remains one of the world’s leading research organizations (ranked second among government organizations in terms of scientific publications, behind the Chinese Academy of Sciences).

France is an industrial heavyweight.

In 2021, the French industry comprised approximately 274,200 companies (including approximately 96,200 micro-enterprises). These companies include world leaders such as Danone, Airbus, Orange, Total and Sanofi, as well as a very dense network of SMEs that boost French industrial competitiveness.

In 2023, the industry employs around 3.4 million people in France, representing 12% of total employment. In 2023, the leading industrial employer in France is the agri-food industry with 666,000 employees, followed by the manufacture of IT, electronic, and optical products with 439,500, then metallurgy with 360,400 employees.

French industry has significant economic weight. French industry accounts for around 13.5% of the added value of the market sector (in 2020), with manufacturing alone accounting for 10%. In 2023, French industrial companies remain strongly export-oriented: for example, large industrial companies generate an average of 47% of their turnover from exports, and mid-sized companies around 34%.

Thanks to the industrial know-how of its workforce and competitive hourly costs, French industry is particularly attractive. France continues to assert itself as the leading destination in Europe for foreign industrial investment: in 2024, it attracted 415 industrial projects, representing more than a quarter of manufacturing projects in Europe, ahead of Turkey (227) and the United Kingdom (183).

Made in France is a guarantee of quality and competitiveness both on the French market and for export. According to a 2018 Ifop poll, 74% of French people say they are willing to pay more for products “Made in France,” a sign that they associate them with superior quality.

The made in France label is free of charge and testifies to a company’s efforts in terms of:

• Goods traceability
• Maintaining local employment and regional expertise
• Use of a local subcontractor ecosystem

Since 2020, the French government has launched a recovery plan aimed at reindustrialization: for example, the production of 25 essential medicines has been relocated or strengthened in France since the health crisis.

Made in France is also a criterion for competitiveness in exports. French know-how in luxury products and food processing is recognized worldwide.

According to the 2017 Made-In-Country Index (Statista), the “Made in France” label was among the 10 best-perceived national labels in the world (score of 81/100, 9^th position).

The Made in France label is an undeniable advantage for us. For the French market, it’s obvious. As for the Asian market, since we deliver 30% of our production there, the fact that we make a Made-in-France luxury ice cream, enhances our image as a quality product. This is clearly an advantage for the development of our market in Asia.

David Caron, Factory Director of Häagen-Dazs Arras.