Cock-a-doodle Doo ! France retains its place as the leading destination for foreign investment in Europe, won in a hard fight in 2019. While the economic crisis caused by the pandemic raised fears of a downgrade, the annual barometer of the audit firm EY (Ernst & Young) devoted to the attractiveness of France and presented on Monday confirms this number 1 place. A gold medal not so trivial as that, especially at the time of the revival. Because the 20,000 foreign companies, with their 2 million jobs, contribute up to 30% of our exports.
Thus, 985 foreign investment projects in France were announced in 2020 compared to 975 in the British dolphin and 930 in Germany. Among these investments, those of Barilla, the world leader in dry pasta. The Italian group, more than a century old, has, with its industrial bakery brand Harrys, five factories in France and employs 1,500 people. While it invests 10 to 15 million euros a year in France, the amount rose last year to 33 million euros, including 28 million euros for the construction of a new production line. at its Vendée site in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire.
“The support of the local authorities is quite exceptional”
“In May 2020, at the worst moment of the crisis, when I went to the board (Editor’s note: management committee), I did not think that these investments would pass, recalls Miloud Benaouda, president of Western Europe of the Barilla group. It was a good surprise. But at the same time, I’ve never had any difficulty selling France. »
Third market of the group, with 630 million euros in turnover, following Italy and the United States, France has long seduced the master of pasta. “I often hear France bashing,” says Miloud Benaouda. The reality is that, even if everything is not perfect, France is a favorable ground for investment. Support from local authorities is quite exceptional, the country is very competitive with low energy costs, one of the best transport networks in Europe and qualified people. »
And corporate taxation, one of the highest in the world? “The difference is not so huge with Italy, assures the boss. In recent years, it has been falling by two points per year. As soon as he came to power, Emmanuel Macron orchestrated the gradual reduction in corporate tax, from 33% to 25% by 2022. production. A gesture of 10 billion euros per year, presented in the recovery plan as the weapon of “industrial reconquest”.
According to the EY barometer, while France retains its crown, it nevertheless recorded an 18% drop in foreign investment projects in 2020. That is more than the European average (-13%) and much more than its English competitors ( -12%) and especially German (-4%). Why this tumble? “It is neither the management of the crisis nor the recovery plan, deciphers Marc Lhermitte, associate director at EY. On the contrary, 44% of the leaders questioned believe that the French recovery plan has been more effective than in other countries. This drop is due to the sectors most affected by the crisis: aeronautics, tourism and even the automobile. Very important sectors for the French economy. When Airbus slows down, all its subcontractors who slow down, like Ratier Figeac (Editor’s note: specialized in propellers and owned by an American group). »
Projects in Ile-de-France exceed those in Greater London
If, in the business services or industrial equipment sectors, the drop in foreign investment projects reached 40%, the pharmaceutical industry posted an increase of 32%, furniture 31% and financial services 11%. . “This is the first time that the number of foreign investment projects in finance in Ile-de-France has exceeded that of Greater London, notes Marc Lhermitte. We went from 30 projects in 2019 to 41 in 2020 while, on the other side of the Channel, they went the opposite way, going from 67 to 38.”
So what will happen in 2021, at the time of the relaunch when international competition will be exacerbated? “France has everything to keep its first place, predicts Marc Lhermitte. She, who had a reputation for going back on her commitments to companies, shows consistency and discipline. Indeed, from the Elysée to Bercy, there is no question of raising taxes, despite the state of public finances. A path in the opposite direction to that taken by the United States and England, which have announced that they want to raise their tax rates. This does not prevent France from maintaining one of the heaviest corporate taxes in the world and which will nevertheless have to attract foreign capital. Because with an external deficit of 53 billion euros in 2020, or 2.3% of GDP (its highest level since 1951), it will need foreign investors more than ever.