Who said that 2022 was that bad? Not France, at least not totally… Despite pessimistic forecasts, the French economy demonstrated resilience. Unemployment was down, exporting activities were up, French entrepreneurs remained optimistic and continued to grow their businesses and French international rankings were in a good position. Here are some “good-to-know” facts.  

The number of exporters in France has never been this high in the last 2 decades 

139,400 is the number of exporters in France in 2022. This is the highest number in nearly 20 years. According to Business France, the national agency serving the internationalization of the French economy, this figure is accompanied by a sharp increase in exports of goods, which would have reached 439 billion euros by the end of the third quarter of 2022. This growth is driven by traditional sectors such as the food industry, but also aeronautics, chemicals and textiles. 

France, the European leader for foreign investments 

The 2022 edition of the France Attractiveness Barometer published by EY reveals that for the third year in a row, France has maintained its position as Europe’s leading destination for foreign investment, well ahead of the United Kingdom and Germany. This result is partly explained by the government’s measures to support the economy and businesses. EY also points out that this strong presence of foreign investors is responsible for the employment of 2.3 million people, more than 14% of business investment, and nearly a third of exports. 

Let’s not forget about France’s reindustrialization plan and the will to relocate. According to a Bpifrance study « Industrial SMEs and midcaps: innovating to produce in France », 80% of managers believe that relocation is possible in their industry. To that end, the Wavestone Industry 4.0 Barometer, cited in the Bpifrance’s study, stated that 46% of industrial companies even have relocation projects. These projects aim to tackle both economic (supply chain disruptions, limiting costs and transport times) and climate issues. 

2022, France’s year for employment 

The unemployment rate is at its lowest since 2008. The number of jobseekers has reached 6 million according to the Dares (Directorate for Research and Statistical Studies of the Ministry of Labor), which also reports nearly 365,200 job vacancies in companies. A quarter of these are new jobs. This situation, combined with inflation, is pushing managers to increase salaries when they can. 76% of business leaders surveyed by Bpifrance Le Lab and Rexecode, said they plan to increase or have already increased their employees’ salaries in 2022.   

France greatly competes with the American audiovisual industry 

On a more random note… American’s broadcasting Industry has nothing on France and its delicate “French Touch”! French programs are very popular abroad. The annual study by the “Centre national du cinema et de l’image animée” (CNC) and Unifrance shows a new historical record of 375.9 million euros for exports of French audiovisual programs, which include sales, pre-sales and co-production contributions. French animation, fiction and documentaries seem to be particularly popular, especially in Western Europe, which remains the leading region for purchases, followed by North America and Asia-Oceania. France’s Banijay, Mediawan, Newen and Federation Entertainment can also boast of being among the top 15 largest TV program producers worldwide. Last December, Mediawan, France’s second-best production studio acquired Plan B, Brad Pitt’s production company.