Foreword th Last year we published the 20 edition of 2008-2009 crisis, we must remember that the The country seems adequately positioned to Finally, in these uncertain times, the fear of the our Barometer on France’s attractiveness for NPS had fallen to an historically low level of perform well in Europe. This year, American “French paradox” is making a come back: a American investors, which showed record -74%, losing 46 points in three years. investors praise government’s support country that absorbs shocks better than others, results and high satisfaction despite some level This global crisis also has the effect of an measures and recovery plan. They are 96% to but that might be slower to bounce-back when of uncertainties regarding the social climate. increasingly sizeable polarization of opinions. believe that support measures for businesses the whole world will be starting up again. At that time, nothing could predict that we While about 40% of American investors in France were as competitive as in other In the light of the global crisis, which is laying would experience such an extraordinary year. anticipate a positive evolution of the economic European countries, with 54% even believing out the foundations for the world of tomorrow, The 2021 Barometer primarily reflects investors’ context in France in the next 2-3 years, only that they have been more competitive than American investors seem to be holding their uncertainty in a bewildering global context, 2 points less than last year, 23% of them, 12 elsewhere in Europe. breath when looking at this unpredictable more than a lack of attractiveness for France. points more than in 2019, anticipate a negative In this context, they anticipate a relatively quick French trajectory. They seem torn between the However, these uncertainties exacerbate the evolution. return to normal as 77% of them think their fear of seeing the crisis push France back into country’s shortcomings. Beyond the economic situation, which is company will take 2 years or less to recover its “old demons” and the wave of hope created Unsurprisingly, this “black swan” event inevitably complicated, it is above all France’s and reach an economic activity equivalent to by the new innovation-driven and forward destabilizes the immutable equilibrium and historical and structural obstacles or weakness the pre- Covid crisis level. looking spirits of the country - encourages a slightly more cautious outlook that American investors are pointing out to Another reason for hope: France is still This AmCham Bain 2021 Barometer should among the community of American investors explain their decline in optimism. One of perceived as an attractive country for undoubtedly lead France to seize this crisis surveyed. In particular regarding employment, the weak signals we had identified in our innovation, with 86% of the American investors as an opportunity to correct its historical this year’s results shows the repercussions of barometer over the past few years is now at the surveyed perceiving its innovation ecosystem weaknesses , and to seize the positive the global crisis: 28% of American investors forefront of this years’ results: ranked as the 5th positively or very positively, praising the prospects offered by this “black swan event” believe that their workforce will decrease in decisive criterion for investment decisions by workforce qualification, government support for the country’s future. France has all the levers the next 2-3 years, 21 points more than last American companies in 2019, the social climate for the new economy and IT infrastructures. in hand to make it happen and AmCham will year, for only 27% who think they will increase -unanimously- becomes the first criterion in It will be interesting to closely monitor support France in its efforts to become more (51% last year). 2020. 54% even consider it as an obstacle to changes in opinion in the coming months, attractive to transatlantic investment. This caution materializes in a slight erosion their investments in France, in comparison and to maintain a high level of attention. The of the attractiveness of France for their with other European countries. Also, the multiplicity of Covid variants, the prospects investment decisions. However, the underlying legal framework surrounding redundancies of new lockdowns in the long term, the global uncertainties should bring us to mitigate and their complexity are still perceived as a uncertainties related to a lasting drop in Covid weakness despite the reforms undertaken Bijan Eghbal this erosion. by the government at the beginning of the cases, force companies to be in permanent Partner at DLA Piper France’s NPS as a location for business mandate; more and more people are criticizing crisis management mode and reduce President of AmCham France investments slightly fells to -20% in 2020, the complexity of procedures (73%) and their prospects in the short and medium term. The costs (80%). sustainability of the “whatever it costs” strategy Marc-André Kamel 8 points lower than in 2019. This figure defended by President Macron to support the Partner and Director at Bain & Company can easily be explained by the economic Despite these points of attention, the pandemic economy is questioned: 70% of investors say Vice-President of AmCham France downturn following the Covid-19 crisis. But has only slightly tempered the optimism of they are worried, or very worried about the the unprecedented scale of the shock caused American investors regarding the attractiveness level of public debt, and its impact on taxation by the global pandemic seems relatively well of France. in the years to come. absorbed in the light of past crises: for example, between 2011 and 2014, or following the st st 4 21 edition AmCham-Bain Barometer 21 edition AmCham-Bain Barometer 5