For the third year in a row, France is the leading destination for foreign investments in Europe despite the Covid-19 crisis.

This is the result of EY’s annual barometer on France’s attractiveness released in June. France is once again the most attractive country for foreign investments in Europe with 985 registered projects coming from European and non-Europeans companies. It is followed by the United Kingdom, with 975 projects, and Germany, with 930. A reassuring result after 2020’s crisis.

Investors trust the French way to support companies during coronavirus crisis

Even if projects dropped by 18% compared with 2019, which exceeds the European average, France remains at the first rank. The reasons rely mostly on how the French government has dealt with the Covid-19 crisis, especially concerning its Recovery Plan. 44% of international executives surveyed think that the French recovery plan was more efficient than the other countries’ one. A trust that might last on a long-term basis: 74% of investors believe that France attractiveness will improve by 2025.

In 2020, investment projects created approximately 30,000 jobs, and were mostly invested in territories and regions (for 40% of them). From a sectorial point of view, and linked with the coronavirus situation, investments in healthcare and logistics increased the most between 2019 and 2020. But once again, French industry remains the focus of foreign investors.

La French Fab attracts investors

Among the 985 investment projects, 341 were devoted to industrial sites. The result of measures taken these last years to improve France industries’ competitiveness, with the launch of:

• La French Fab, a community gathering French industries.
• The 120 “Industrial Territories” (Territoires d’industries) with incentives for setting up new businesses in French regions.
• A recovery plan to support several industrial sectors, and to reshore activities in France.

“The tax environment has never been more favorable for industrial investment”, said Pascal Cagni and Christophe Lecourtier, Chairman and CEO of Business France.

Last but not least, Brexit represents another opportunity: approximately 40% of the investment projects stemmed from the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. As companies want to implement themselves in the European single market, Germany and France has now became their first choices.