An innovative business environment

  • RANKED third OECD for government support for innovation (after US and China)
  • Best place in Europe for R&D tax incentives and attractive corporate tax rate on R&D operations (Research Tax Credit)
  • France is a ‘Startup Nation’ with over 12,000 startups

A leading and open economy

  • WORLD’S sixth largest economy
  • Second largest consumer market in Europe and the WORLD’S seventh largest foreign investor (FMI, 2018)
  • WORLD’S leading host country for foreign investment in industry (EY, 2016)

Internationally renowned schools and universities

  • Some of the best business schools in the world (HEC and ESSEC) (FT, 2017)
  • 22 FRENCH UNIVERSITIES are ranked in the TOP 500 ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS in the world (Shanghai rankings 2018)

A deep, qualified talent pool

  • Highly productive labour force (ahead of Germany and the UK) (The Conference Board, 2018)
  •  1,6 MILLION scientists and engineers (OECD, 2017)
  • 44% of 25- to 34-year-olds have a university qualification, (30.5% in Germany and 25.6% in Italy) (OECD, 2017)

Excellence in healthcare

  • Leading OECD country for access to healthcare; France boasts a healthcare system with high performance levels and universal coverage guaranteeing ‘access to care for all’.
  • Lille has the largest hospital university campus in Europe
  • Fifth largest global market and second largest European market in the pharma industry (LEEM)
  • Second largest European market for medical devices after Germany (Medtech Europe)
  • 4 French medical research organisations in the world’s top 25 most innovative institutions:
    CNRS – INSERM – PASTEUR INSTITUTE – CEA (Thomson-Reuters, 2016)
  • France has 18 biotech/medtech startups per million inhabitants (US: 10 and UK: 13) (France Biotech)
  • EURONEXT leading European stock market for healthtech: with 91 healthtechs (including 66 from France), Euronext is the leading European market for companies in the sector