During his speech, the president notably assured that “1.7 million” jobs had been created “in six years” and that France was the “most attractive country in Europe for investment”.
A speech to try to turn the page of retreats, but also to outline the next ones “priority projects” of the executive. In his speech on Monday April 17, Emmanuel Macron unveiled the next lines of reform, proposing in particular to build a “new work life pact”. The Head of State took the opportunity to praise his economic record, in terms of employment and reindustrialization. Franceinfo verified three of these claims.
1 “We have created 1.7 million jobs in six years”: true
Emmanuel Macron, who has made the return to full employment one of the objectives of his second five-year term, first highlighted the situation on the hiring front. “We have created, in six years, 1.7 million jobs for our country”assured the Head of State. Between the end of the first quarter of 2017 and the last quarter of 2022 – date of the latest INSEE data available – around 1.87 million salaried jobs were created. A figure to which must be added some 460,000 self-employed jobs created between 2017 and the end of 2021, according to the latest count from INSEE. The orders of magnitude mentioned by the Head of State are therefore correct.
But how to interpret these data? By first considering the economic context that Emmanuel Macron inherited on his arrival at the Elysée. “The dynamics of the labor market were already rather favorable” before 2017, recalled last year to franceinfo Vladimir Passeron, head of the department of employment and income from activity at Insee.
In 2020, due to the health crisis, the dynamic was reversed and the number of jobs “decreased by 175,000 between the end of 2019 and the end of 2020”, notes the institute. The “whatever it takes” has limited the impact of the pandemic on the labor market, however, and thejob got “very strongly straightened” in 2021, with 965,000 net creations. “Many jobs have been created in the tertiary sector, in highly skilled positions, but also in catering or construction”explained in February to franceinfo Bruno Coquet, economist and associate researcher at the OFCE.
Furthermore, thehe State has strongly encouraged the use of apprenticeships by paying a bonus for any apprenticeship hired. More than 800,000 apprenticeship contracts were thus signed in 2022. Overall, subsidized employment represented nearly 2.3 million jobs at the end of 2021, up by nearly 7% over one year, details the Insee. Finally, the situation on the French labor market is far from being an exception: “Employment is doing well everywhere in Europe”puts Bruno Coquet into perspective.
2 “Two hundred” factories have opened “in the past two years”: rather true
“More broadly, it is through reindustrialisation that we will regain our strength and create better paid jobs”, engaged the head of state in his speech. “In France, in valleys and cantons, factories are opening again: 200 for two years”, he assured. A fair statement, but lacking in context. Contacted on the source of this figure, the office of the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure, refers to a report on “Employment and investment in 2022 in France”. In this study, the firm specializing in investment and employment Trendeo explains that, over the past two years, the number of openings of industrial sites has been greater than the closures recorded. He thus identifies a positive balance of 123 net creations of factories in 2021, and 80 in 2022, reports The World (paid article). That is 203 in total.
The Ministry of Industry talks to franceinfo about the opening of factories in “strategic sectors” as “health”, “The batteries”, “electronic components” Or “renewable energies”. The electronic card factory of the French group Lacroix, inaugurated in September in Maine-et-Loire, for example, employs 460 people, reports West France. Naturopera, a company specializing in hygiene products, opened a site in Pas-de-Calais in October and recruited around 40 people to produce 200 million “ecological nappies” per year, according to France 3 Hauts-de-France.
Besides, “49 relocations” were recorded in 2022, underlines a recent report of the Council of Ministers, using data from Trendeo. The Ministry of the Economy mentions on its site relocations in the sectors of equipment for bicycles, toys, watches, textile manufacturing or shoes. Some of these relocations were supported by the France Relance plan launched in 2020, then the France 2030 investment project announced the following year.
As for industrial employment, the overall trend has been declining for several decades, as shown by INSEE figures. With 3.2 million jobs at the end of 2022, industry represented only 12% of total salaried employment. However, a slight rebound has been observable since 2021 with nearly 80,000 job creations in the sector over the past two years. But this dynamic remains fragile. The last few months have been marked by several announcements of closures. In the health sector, the Novartis laboratory will cease production of cell therapy at its Essonne site, which employs some 200 people. In food, Fleury Michon will close a factory in Ille-et-Vilaine in May, threatening a hundred employees, details France 3 Bretagne.
3 “Our country has become the most attractive in Europe for investment”: it’s more complicated
Emmanuel Macron finally welcomed “attractiveness” of France, which became “the most attractive country in Europe for investment”. In February, the executive had already relayed the “Review of international investment that creates jobs”, established each year by the public agency Business France. According to the study, in 2022, France hosted 1,725 foreign investment projects, i.e. 7% more than the previous year, which constituted already a record. The majority of them come from the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. For example, the American chemist Chemours formalized at the beginning of January an investment of 200 million dollars (185 million euros) in France to build a factory for the membranes of electrolyzers necessary for the production of hydrogen.
In terms of registered projects, France actually ranks ahead of its European partners. According to the latest barometer from the EY firm, to which Business France refers, the country recorded 1,222 foreign investment projects in 2021. “For the third consecutive year, France dominates the European ranking., ahead of the United Kingdom (993 projects) and Germany (841 projects). Comparative data for 2022 will not be available until mid-May, at the time of the Choose France summit, which will bring together the major foreign bosses.
However, the amount of investment is not disclosed by Business France. However, if we look at the last “World Investment Report” (PDF in English) of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, the situation is different. En 2021, France attracted $14 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI). Much less, for example, than Germany (31 billion), the United Kingdom (27 billion) or Belgium (25 billion). Finally, “the projects hosted by France are less generative jobs”, concedes the barometer of the EY firm. On average, setting up in France leads to 38 jobs, compared to 45 in Germany or 68 in the United Kingdom.