The Embassy of France in South Africa on June 9 said auditing firm EY's 2021 France Attractiveness Barometer had confirmed France's position as the top European country for foreign direct investment (FDI).
Despite the health uncertainty weighing on the global economy, France announced 985 new investment projects in 2020, pushing it ahead of the UK and Germany.
France was also the leading European country for industrial settlements, garnering 35% of the projects on a European scale. It has further benefitted from the most from job creation owing to foreign investment, with 30 500 jobs created in 2020.
“Attractiveness has concrete benefits: foreign businesses choosing France play a major role in job creation throughout our territories. It is an essential asset for recovery,” said French Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Minister Franck Riester.
“France’s continued leadership demonstrates the effectiveness of the massive support measures deployed to address the economic consequences of the Covid-19 crisis.
"An emergency plan was implemented to support for economy’s fundamentals, jobs and, therefore, skills and expertise, with a clear result: foreign investors remain confident in France.”
Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit Europe, France had also managed to become the European destination for foreign investment in 2019, the Embassy said.