Posted on 12/21/2012 9:43:36 PM PST by nickcarraway
France's attractiveness as a place to do business has plummeted in the eyes of US businesses active in the country after the change to a Socialist government, according to a survey released Thursday.
The survey among the heads of the French units of US companies found that only 22 percent saw France as an attractive place to do business, down from 56 percent in 2011.
Conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris and consulting firm Bain and Company, the survey questioned 52 leaders of French operations of US companies that had 39,000 employees and generated €32 billion ($42 billion) in sales last year.
Some 39 percent of the business leaders said they believed their headquarters in the United States had a negative perception of France, compared with 15 percent in 2011 and 9 percent in 2010.
While the drop in attractiveness was due to a range of factors, 65 percent of respondents said the election of a Socialist government had had a negative effect.
The survey was conducted in October, before the new government sent shivers through business circles by threatening to nationalise a steel factory toprevent ArcelorMittal shutting it down.
Some 85 percent of those polled had a negative opinion of the government's business tax policies, although 73 percent were in favour of a €20-billion initiative that would lower their tax charges to employ workers.
Solzhenitsyn said it best.
Collectivism is an economic model which does not take into consideration any other scientific discipline, and particularly ignores any study of psychology.
Thanks nickcarraway.
Or an autoimmune disease that seeks to rid the state of pesky business.
50% down to 22%
The stupidity of the masses to vote for losers like this
American business executives turned off by France’s socialist government.
Meanwhile, American voters re-elect a communist committed to establishing a socialist utopia in the United States.
Guess what’s coming to a country near you, Mr. American Business Executive?
It’s hard to believe businessmen liked France before Hollande. The rules over there are stifling. So much for the “big business is conservative” meme.
Hey at least Hollande is honest,unlike Obummer.
Unfortunately the US has done no better.
While that is true... Pay to play is very rewarding. Think of all the free money and favorable regulations. For example, Buffet’s railroads benefitted greatly from the keystone deal. Union construction and ofhers have seen lots of free money.
“The rules over there are stifling. So much for the “big business is conservative” meme.”
For several years I worked for the American subsidiary of France’s Schlumberger . I believe that at the time Schlumberger was the largest corporation in the world. Every business principle you know was stood on its ear in France. For example, Schlumberger’s defense arm would tell the French government what the government was going to buy and then the government would negotiate how much. I have no idea how that worked. I can tell you that France was building Ford’s flathead V8 for most of its military vehicles into the mid-seventies. This wasn’t because the French military didn’t want a more powerful modern design. I think they only switched because the design was ludicrously under-powered and simply couldn’t perform to modern standards.
The point is that if you’re properly set with the French government I don’t think things are too bad for business. However, Hollande appears to have reset the playing field and closed the loopholes that allowed some businesses to skate passed the rules, regulations, and taxes.
Another point, some people are as in love with the idea of “France.” They practically swoon when they say the word. They’re in love with an idea that doesn’t exist in reality.
Only 22%, why isn’t it down to 0%?
22% of them are French. :P
Yes, I’m sure there’s a lot of crony capitalism occuring, whcih is why we have the spectacle of businessmen voting for Ozero and other statists. It’s little wonder that so many rubes hate ‘capitalism’ when we have this crap going on. As usual, if your in good with the ‘rulers’ of a country, you can expect favors while the little guys get quashed.
Very rewarding indeed. Also look at the billions funneled to Obama’s green energy cronies...with no results to show for it.
Sinclair Lewis’ novel “It Can’t Happen Here” is all about “Corporatism” and the fascist take-over the of the US by the Corporatists. It is exactly what has happened in the US.
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