The Startup Ecosystem of France

This proactive support from the public sector and other stakeholders underpins the French government’s strategy to foster a robust France startup community. France’s public sector is highly active on all fronts in developing local startup ecosystems; in fact, it is quite rare for a country to have its president involved directly in the promotion and development efforts of the startup scene, as is the case with President Macron. The goal of creating a “startup nation” opened the door for a variety of strong international organizations to discover France’s best startups. The most notable are La French Tech, a platform that brings together the networks of startup ecosystem stakeholders, and the France startup visa, an initiative for attracting investors, startup founders, and foreign talent in France funding. There is also the Paris Region Entreprises, a business and innovation catalyst in the France hub. Moreover, France is home to Station-F, the biggest startup campus in the world, which hosts Viva Technology, one of the top startup events in Europe for France tech startups.

French government initiatives aimed at boosting investments in new high-risk projects and SME modernization seem to be helpful. Some example initiatives include tax breaks to business angels who reinvest capital gains in innovative firms and the streamlining of business creation procedures. However, the direct investment in startups made by the public sector is relatively high compared to other ecosystems, an example being the State bank of Bpifrance, a major player in startup funding nationally in France startup companies.

It should be noted that although recent reforms were made, the French business environment is still clearly underperforming compared to the achievements of its entrepreneurs in France top startups. Relatively strict labor laws and a low level of English proficiency are limiting the potential of the French ecosystem to grow startups at full speed. This is a good lesson: regardless of the strategic vision of any country in developing its startup ecosystem, you can’t separate it from the general regulations and policies on the ground.