Doing Business in France | 2015
International companies choose France because of its strategic position at the heart of Europe, the largest market in the world with 500 million consumers, and because of its membership of the euro zone, which offers the advantages of a single currency in 19 different countries.
With 65 million inhabitants, France is the third-largest consumer market in Europe after Germany and UK and the sixth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of 2,060 billion euros in 2014. More than 84 million tourists visited the country in 2014. While this makes France the leading tourist destination in the world, the country was also one of the leading recipient of foreign direct investment in the world in 2013, according to the UNCTAD, receiving 12.7 billion euros in foreign investment flows. The balance of international investment in France now reaches 803 billion euros ranking the fourth most important country in terms of international investment.
In a global economy marked by an overall drop in foreign direct investments, the Invest in France Agency and its regional partners in 2014 recorded 740 new job-creating foreign investment projects, that is to 8% more than in 2013, in the top three during the 15 past years. The number of jobs created or maintained by these new investments was more than 26,000.
France is the #1 investment destination in Europe. More than 20,000 foreign companies currently have a base in France, employing over 2 million people. Foreign companies in France produce 40% of French industries turnover and perform more than 27% of R&D conducted in France.
With 31 of the 500 biggest companies of the world in 2014, France ranks 4th in the Fortune Global 500 behind the USA, China and Japan.
Over the years, Mazars has worked with many businesses setting up in France. They have all experienced the frustration of getting to grips with the complex regulatory environment. This guide is provided to give a general overview of the main regulations that will apply and make the familiarisation that much easier.
Table of Contents :
- Setting up
- Company law
- “Droit du travail” : Employment law
- Contacts
- “Comptabilité”: Accounting
- “Fiscalité”: Taxation
- Social Security
To read the full content of this guide, please download the document below.