Since 2013, the Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur (CCE), in collaboration with Eurogroup Consulting, have been measuring the attractiveness of the French territory from abroad. Nearly 1,000 CCEs responded to this January 2022 edition.
TWO YEARS AFTER THE START OF THE HEALTH CRISIS, FRANCE REMAINS ATTRACTIVE TO FOREIGN INVESTORS
Despite the global health crisis that has persisted for the past two years, this 9ème edition of our Attractiveness Index shows that France remains an attractive territory.
Indeed, after a fall in 2021 due to the health situation, the index continues to rise. Interest in France, which became Europe's most attractive country in 2019, is confirmed once again this year. France has lost none of its historical assets, which have continued to attract foreign investors for several years: the cultural environment, the quality of infrastructure, the quality of life and the environment, innovation and research capabilities, and the quality of the workforce. Perceptions are improving on criteria that have traditionally been weak points for the country's attractiveness: labor flexibility and social climate, labor costs, administrative and regulatory burden and taxation.
FRANCE'S ATTRACTIVENESS INDEX REACHES ONE OF ITS HIGHEST LEVELS SINCE 2015, WITH A SLIGHT INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR
At almost 64 points, France's attractiveness no longer seems to be affected by the impact of the health crisis: the Index is in fact 1.7 points away from its 2020 record. For 78 % of those surveyed, France's attractiveness is considered «good» or «fairly good», and has even improved over the last six months for 58% of them.
These results are part of an overall trend observed since 2017. The executive's measures, namely the lowering of production taxes, the specific support program for industry, the 2030 recovery plan followed by the France 2030 plan, and the maintenance of the research tax credit, are sources of satisfaction for business leaders.
The only downside is the quantum plane, which is judged to have «no impact» at 61%, probably due to its more technical nature and lack of notoriety.
Innovation capabilities, taxation, labor costs and labor flexibility: criteria on the rise
After a significant drop in 2021, the perception of France's innovation and research capabilities is back on the rise (+3.16 points). Other criteria on the rise are taxation, labor costs and labor flexibility (around +3 points each).
Last but not least, this edition highlights a significant drop in the criterion « energy supply and cost »This is a criterion that is suffering from the current tensions on the energy commodities markets. Nevertheless, while this criterion has lost 5.3% compared to previous years, the observation undoubtedly applies to all European countries.
It has to be said that the war in Ukraine, which took place after this study was carried out, is likely to greatly increase the pressure on energy costs.
The territorial dimension, a significant asset
- Lyon, which remains the most attractive metropolis overall, and also the one with the best infrastructure quality
- Paris, which remains in the lead in terms of innovation and research capacity
- Nice and Bordeaux, The region is praised for its excellent quality of life and environment.
- Toulouse, favored for its lower installation costs
Foreign investors still sensitive to executive tax reforms
The results of the Index provide a number of insights into companies' expectations:
- Visit tax system reform is well perceived
- The CCEs come under the impact of Brexit but they don't all have the same analysis: half of those surveyed consider the spin-offs to be positive for France, while 15% consider them to be negative.
- Visit decarbonizing the economy appears as an opportunity for more than 40% of respondents. Half do not measure its impact, and only 10% perceive this dimension of the ecological transition as a threat.
The disparity in attractiveness between regions argues in favor of territorial marketing adapted to the strengths and challenges of each catchment area: the regions that make the difference with foreign investors are those that make the most of their strengths and specific features, and have defined the most precisely the type of investors they wish to attract.
Gilles Bonnenfant,
Chairman of the Commission pour l'attractivité de la France des Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur de la France and Chairman of Eurogroup Consulting
Survey methodology
The Indice d'Attractivité du Territoire (IAT) is an online survey, based on voluntary participation and accessible to the entire network of Foreign Trade Advisors, i.e. almost 4,500 CCEs, nearly two-thirds of whom are based abroad, in 152 countries.
They are asked to assess potential investors' perception of France's attractiveness according to twelve criteria:
- administrative and regulatory burden
- taxation
- quality of workmanship
- labor costs
- flexible working and social climate
- legal certainty
- energy supply and cost
- infrastructure quality
- innovation and research capabilities
- quality of life and environment
- personal safety
- cultural environment
