Foreign group premises and dependent employment in the Paris Region

Source: Insee, CLAP-LIFI 2007

In 2007, this made the Paris region the most attractive in France for foreign groups: the region was home to 28% of foreign investors based in France, with 2.5 times more premises than in the Rhône-Alpes region, in second place.

In terms of employees, investors in the Paris region are 95% European or American. The vast majority of foreign groups are still of European origin: two thirds of employees working for a foreign group are part of a European group. France's neighbours are most heavily represented, including the United Kingdom (17% of jobs), Germany (14%) and the Netherlands (7%).

In terms of the départements in the Paris region, the Hauts-de-Seine and Paris have the highest number of employees working for a foreign group, with over 150,000 each. Between them, they account for half the employees in the Paris region working for a foreign group. It is worth noting, however, that the Hauts-de-Seine is even more internationalised than Paris: 24% of employees in the département work for a foreign group, compared with 14% in the capital. Outside the Hauts-de-Seine and Paris, the main centres attracting foreign groups are in the areas close to Roissy and Orly airports, in the urban community of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines or in towns on the main route between Paris and Marne-la-Vallée.

Over 80% of dependent employment in foreign groups is in the tertiary sector, which is well represented in the region. Within the tertiary sector, services represent the main activity of foreign groups with 356,000 employees, half of whom work in business services. Within the services sector, however, the share of dependent employment in the Paris region from foreign groups is only 16%. In commerce, it is 28%. Industry also relies on foreign groups (24%). Construction, however, remains the preserve of national firms.