For years now, France has been stereotyped as a foul place for companies. Regardless of being one of many world’s largest economies, French tradition is seen as antithetical to profitable enterprise, with employees and authorities conspiring to make enterprise house owners’ lives as tough as doable.
Whereas there have been some limitations to enterprise development prior to now, the French enterprise panorama of in the present day could be very completely different to the one in all many years previous. Listed below are 5 of probably the most irritating myths about doing enterprise in France, and why the nation is a much better enterprise vacation spot than you would possibly suppose.
“The vacations in France are too lengthy”
Holidays are sacrosanct in France, and a part of the working tradition that is not prone to change. Whereas Sundays are not particular days of relaxation the best way they had been a decade in the past, it is true that the French obtain extra public holidays than a lot of their neighbours, notably in comparison with the UK. French employees get 30 days’ paid vacation per 12 months (in comparison with 28 within the UK), and likewise profit from as much as 13 public holidays in some areas.
Nonetheless, this added day off is not the broad destructive it is usually painted as for companies. A important physique of proof means that extra day off truly encourages folks to work tougher, giving them the psychological and bodily relaxation they should carry out higher within the office. While you have a look at how low the UK’s office productiveness has fallen – at the least, previous to house working – the French system begins to make a bit extra sense.
“It’s too tough to rent and fireplace folks”
Unions have all the time had a whole lot of energy in France, and that is nonetheless true in the present day. French folks basically are typically extra concerned in politics than many different nations, and are strongly protecting of the freedoms for employees which have been received over the centuries. That is each a cultural level and a actuality for French companies, and one thing you need to be conscious of.
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Whereas there hasn’t been any union-busting of the type seen within the UK within the Eighties, nevertheless, the imbalance of energy between unions and the federal government has been redressed barely in recent times. Because of the efforts of the present authorities, some energy has belatedly been given again to companies, closing loopholes that had been being abused by some workers and their unions.
Modifications made by the present authorities have curtailed among the most excessive powers of labour unions, the place a firing may usually be contested, and result in an extended and expensive tribunal. Companies in France can now rent and fireplace workers rather more freely than earlier than, permitting them to stress much less about releasing underperforming workers, and serving to them to develop and adapt to altering circumstances.
“It’s too tough to seek out funding”
There has lengthy been a notion that, whereas France could be place to begin a enterprise, it is not place to develop one. An absence of funding alternatives and a few restrictive labour insurance policies have been seen as stymying enterprise improvement, with France harbouring fewer ‘unicorns’ (billion greenback firms) than comparable sized nations.
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This notion is quickly altering, and France is not only turning into a hotbed for startup expertise (reminiscent of the massive startup hub Station F), however a spot the place startups can keep and scale up successfully. In addition to EU funding, startups in France are benefitting from the Bpifrance funding fund, and a wave of angel traders and seed funding. That is solely growing because of the efforts of La French Tech, and the burgeoning tech startup ecosystem in over a dozen tech cities throughout France.
“Staff in France strike too usually”
France is sort of as well-known for putting employees as it’s for its garments and delicacies. Pictures of offended protesters disrupting transport and occupying factories are a part of French folklore, and appear to be prevalent. However whereas there are some statistics to again this up – France is “above the European common” by way of strikes – they’re rarer than you would possibly suppose, and infrequently focused away from typical companies.
The latest strike to make the information was in early 2020, when rail employees deserted their posts for over a month. Nonetheless, this was a case of public sector workers putting over adjustments to pensions, which might have hit rail employees hardest. On the time, France had the third highest pension expenditure as a proportion of GDP in Europe, and Macron’s authorities was making an attempt to scale back this.
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In fact, strikes in France do occur, and even when they aren’t usually directed at personal companies, they’ll nonetheless trigger you disruption. However the notable strikes do are typically additional aside, and extra to do with the general public sector. In the newest examples, they’ve truly been a response to a authorities that’s making an attempt to stability its books, and make France a extra environment friendly and aggressive vacation spot for traders.
“Beginning a enterprise in France is just too difficult”
Beginning a enterprise in France has obtained a lot simpler through the years as a consequence of France seeking to enhance its enterprise status and courtroom extra international traders. Though it is undoubtedly true that French authorities nonetheless have a love of ritual, there are simple methods round any obstacles – particularly language issues – when you’ve got an organization formation knowledgeable to information you and assist out with any paperwork.
When you want extra data, we have now a free downloadable information beneath which takes you thru each step of opening a enterprise in France, and you probably have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to both name us straight on 0033 (0)1 53 57 49 10 or e-mail us from our contact web page and we’ll be blissful to assist.
