Invest in France Agency north-america Office

Overtime hours are now tax and charge free in France.

The French work on average 41 hours per week, which is more than the Norwegians (39.2), the Irish (40.2), the Finnish (40.3) or the Danish (40.4) according to Eurostat figures (2008). Management staff in France work on average 48 hours a week which makes them one of the hardest working in Europe just after Germany (49.7) but well ahead of the UK (44.2) and Sweden (44).
Moreover, France ranks 1st in the EU and 3rd worldwide in terms of hourly productivity (behind Norway and the US), well ahead of Great Britain and Germany.

New French labour regulations have been brought in and provide incentives to work more and earn more.

Companies can raise the number of hours worked by management staff or independent salaried employees from 218 days to 235 days (and even up to 282 working days if there is collective agreement for working on Saturdays)
Also, since October 2007, employees benefit from exemptions on tax and social security contributions for overtime hours worked over and above the legal working week, effectively an increase of 25% in pay for overtime. The employer also benefits from a flat reduction in employer social security charges for each additional overtime hour. 

Read more information on the following PDF document.

• Re-establishing work incentives [pdf - 212 Ko]
• Other languages
  • Aufwertung der Arbeit durch die Arbeitsreform, eine Priorität für Frankreich [pdf - 96 Ko]
  • La valeur "travail"réhabilitée : une priorité pour la France [pdf - 185 Ko]

Which country gets you up to 50 million euros if you invest 100 million in R&D?

France caters to innovative companies and, effective January 1, 2008, offers the best research tax credit in Europe. This public assistance facility aims to improve France’s competitiveness to attract new R&D centres and further develop existing ones.
In France, the research tax credit (Crédit Impôt Recherche – CIR) represents a reliable element of an innovative company’s financial plan, and is particularly well adapted to the needs of SMEs. This tax incentive enables companies to increase their competitiveness by supporting their Research & Development efforts.
The French Government has undertaken a major reform of the research tax credit by means of the Financial Law of 2008, which is in line with the "Lisbon strategy" (knowledge-based economy) and the "Barcelona objective" (3% of total GDP dedicated to R&D).

• The best research tax credit in Europe

• Other languages
  • Le crédit impôt recherche le plus attractif de l'Union Européenne [pdf - 2 Mo]
  • The best research tax credit in Europe [pdf - 624 Ko]

Kicking off France's Energy Week at La Défense, France's Minister of Ecologie announced a renewable energy development plan for the coming years.

One year after France's Environmental Conference (Grenelle de l'Environnment)  Jean-Louis Borloo, Minister of Ecology, kicked off France's Energy Week announcing his plans to develop renewable energy programs--predominently solar and wind power--to ultimately cut the country's use of oil by 20 million tons before 2020.