Trade in France

France  is  the  largest  country  in  Western  Europe.  Similar  in  terms  of  population  to  the  UK  (around  63.6  million  people  live  in  France),  it  has  a  land  mass  twice  the  size  and  is  situated  at  the  crossroads  of  major  road  and  rail  transport  systems  throughout  Europe  France  is  also  the  world’s  number‐one  tourist  destination  with  79.3  million  visitors  in  2008.  

France earns a huge number of money using their tourist spots

Economic overview

France is a leading industrialised country with a mature and sophisticated market economy. GDP is dominated by the services sector. France is the world’s fifth largest exporter — the European Union as a bloc is France’s most important trading partner. Paris is a leading financial market in the Eurozone. France is the most energy independent of the G8 industrialised countries owing to its heavy reliance on nuclear energy. Over 75 per cent of electricity is generated by nuclear power plants.
France performed better than most other European countries during the global financial crisis, despite contracting by 2.5 per cent in 2009, (the contraction for the euro area as a whole was 4.1 per cent). Recovery was assisted by a €26 billion (A$51.3 billion) stimulus package announced in December 2008 and the provision of bank guarantees and funding to recapitalise French banks. The government also established a sovereign investment fund to help maintain France’s manufacturing capacity, with the automotive sector a key recipient. France followed the lead of the UK by implementing a temporary one-year tax on bank bonuses. Despite this, a number of large-scale strikes were held in 2009 over the government’s handling of the crisis, driven by an unemployment rate that had risen to 9.9 per cent.

Trade starts here

President Sarkozy has identified the country’s various deficits and unemployment as the most important challenges facing France in exiting the global financial crisis. France has committed in its 2010-2013 Stability Program, presented to the European Commission on 1 February 2010, to reducing its high national budget deficit (7.8 per cent of GDP in 2010) to 3 per cent of GDP by 2013. Public debt in France reached record levels of 81.7 per cent of GDP in 2010, and the Government expects it to increase to around 88 per cent in 2012, after which it is projected to decline as a result of the Government’s austerity program.
Figures released on 13 May by the INSEE (National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies) showed that in the first quarter of 2011, GDP grew by 1.0 per cent, the most significant increase since the second quarter of 2006. Manufacturing production rose by 3.4 per cent, the highest increase in 30 years, and around 60,000 new jobs were created, principally in the services sector. Loans provided to French banks during the financial crisis were repaid in full. The OECD revised upwards its forecast for economic growth in France to 2.2 per cent. However, the French government recently revised downwards its economic growth rate projections for the fourth quarter of 2011, indicating that growth might be zero, with the OECD revising its growth figures for France for 2012 down to 0.3 per cent.
The Government will continue its policy of not replacing one in two retiring public servants and has announced a freeze of public sector salaries for 2011. President Sarkozy’s controversial pension reforms, which will see the minimum retirement age for a partial pension progressively raised from 60 to 62 and for a full pension from 65 to 67 by 2018, were approved by the French Parliament in October 2010. France’s new Financial Regulation and Systemic Risk Council – which seeks to forestall risks in the financial sector – was also established in October 2010. The Council met for the first time in February 2011.

Foreign Trade Overview
France is one of the 10 leading exporters in the world, exports accounting for more than 50% of the country's GDP.

Main Business is Fashion

However, the country registers a strong trade deficit. Imports are developing quickly, as the French population buys a lot of imported goods which are sold relatively cheaply on the local market in comparison to products "Made in France". In addition to this, despite the government's efforts to favor innovation, French exports have relatively low added value.
In 2009, under the effects of the economic recession, both exports and imports devreased. Exports, however, rebounded in 2010 with the resumption of Asian trade, and imports have risen dramatically in response to the upturn in activity.

Doing Business in France

There are many opportunities for UK Business in France. We provide a wealth of information and guidance on doing business in France.

This includes:

• Doing Business Guide
• Sector Briefings
• FCO Country Updates
• Overseas Business Risk 

Market of France

What are the Opportunities?

France is an open and highly competitive market, with opportunities in most sectors, especially for small and medium-sized business. French place a premium on non-price factors such as design, quality, delivery and after sales service. UK goods and services are generally held in high regard, but must be of high quality and competitively priced.