NEWS COVERAGE - FRANCE

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS NEWS FROM THE PAST WEEK

June 12th, 2015
Business Sweden in Paris

NEW MEASURES TO BOOST EMPLOYMENT AMONG

SME:S
The French Prime Minister Manuel Valls presented on Tuesday 09/06, several measures which are aiming to facilitate
employment in French SME:s

Four principal announcements;

1.

The Contrat Dure Limite (CDD), which is a fixed term employment contract, as well as interim agreements,
can be extended two times up to 18 months

2.

Hiring premium of 4000 euros for companies currently not employing any employee, for employment contracts
exceeding 12 months

3.

Agreement between employees and employers making it possible to change the employee remuneration as well as
the working hours for a period of five years, compared to a period of two years before the reform

4.

The compensation to employees enrolled in a dispute with their employer at the French labour courts will be caped
to 20 months of salary for companies with over 20 employees, and to 12 months with for companies having less
than 20 employees

The French Government has not yet announced any changes in the permanent employment contract, called Contrat
Dure Illimite (CDI)

SOURCES: 1 & 2
BUSINESS SWEDEN

12 JUNE, 2015

THE FRENCH PENSION SYSTEM IS STILL RUNNING ON

DEFICIT
The French Council of Retirement Orientation (CRO) has
announced that the French pension insurance system
will cost the French economy 0.4 % of its GDP,
translated into a deficit of approximately 10 bn in 2019
and 2020

The French pension system could reach equilibrium by

2030, where earned income must increase on average
by 1.5 % per year, according to CRO representatives
Another important factor to reach equilibrium is the
unemployment rate, which have to decrease to 4.5 %
by 2030
With the current state of the French economy, where
incomes are increasing by 1.3 % a year, coupled with
a medium term unemployment rate forecasted to 7 %,
the French pension system would need a financing
amounting to 0.5 % of GDP in 2030

SOURCES: 3 & 4
BUSINESS SWEDEN

* PROJECTED ECONOMIC BALANCE OF THE FRENCH PENSION SYSTEM

12 JUNE, 2015

FACEBOOK INVESTS IN R&D CENTERS IN PARIS,

DEVELOPING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Facebook has created an R&D centre with five researchers, which could increase to 25 in a year and a half, developing
Facebooks artificial intelligence program called FAIR (Facebook artificial intelligence research)

FAIR, currently directed by the French researcher Yann LeCun, sees its first research centre outside an Anglo-Saxon
country

The choice of investing in Paris is the concentration of knowledge in terms of artificial intelligence, according to
Facebooks technical director Mike Shroepfer

Facebook will partner up with INRA, the French National Institute for Computer Science, where common projects will be
initiated

The FAIR projects objective is to improve connectivity as well as enhancing Facebooks interface
Other announced long term goals are to develop intelligent machines and translation solutions
R&D research currently represents 40 % of Facebooks total expenditures, amounting to 1.06 bn during the first
quarter of 2015

SOURCES: 5 & 6
BUSINESS SWEDEN

12 JUNE, 2015

SOURCES
1. Les Echos 09/06/2015, TPE-PME : le Tout Pour lEmploi incertain de Manuel Valls,
http://www.lesechos.fr/economie-france/social/021124001608-tpe-pme-le-tout-pour-lemploi-incertain-de-manuel-valls-1126707.php
2. Usine Nouvelle 09/06/2015, CDD, prime l'embauche... Les mesures Valls pour les TPE et PME,
http://www.usinenouvelle.com/editorial/cdd-prime-a-l-embauche-les-mesures-valls-pour-les-tpe-et-pme.N334524
3. Les Echos 08/06/2015, Le systme de retraites reste loin de lquilibre financier,
http://www.lesechos.fr/economie-france/social/021119900246-les-retraites-quasiment-a-lequilibre-en-2019-1126295.php
4. Conseil dOrientation des Retraites (COR) 10/06/2015, Evolutions et perspectives des retraites en France.
http://www.cor-retraites.fr/IMG/pdf/doc-2816.pdf
5. Les Echos 03/06/2015, Facebook va crire une partie du futur Paris,
http://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats/sciences-prospective/021106367667-facebook-va-ecrire-une-partie-du-futur-a-paris-1124752.php
6. LUsine Digitale 07/06/2015, Pourquoi Facebook a choisi Paris (et ce qu'il va y faire) en matire d'intelligence artificielle,
http://www.usine-digitale.fr/editorial/pourquoi-facebook-a-choisi-paris-et-ce-qu-il-va-y-faire-en-matiere-d-intelligence-artificielle.N333906

BUSINESS SWEDEN

12 JUNE, 2015