France’s green industry led last year’s new plant openings and big expansions, while the automotive sector stood out for closures and downsizings, according to France’s latest “industrial barometer” published today.
The government’s paper confronts re-industrialisation and de-industrialisation decisions taken within the French territory over the last year. Its data have to be handled carefully, as it does not distinguish between big and small projects.
According to the paper, green industry lead the ranking with 27 net openings and upsizing, followed by the agrifood sector’s +20.
Meanwhile, the mechanical and transport industries’ balance was negative, with 2 and 12 net plants losses or downsizings respectively over the period.
The automotive sector accounts for 31 of the 36 “closures” in the transport sectors. The “about ten openings” recorded failed to counterbalance these, the paper says, apparently even when upsizing and downsizing decisions are included in these figures.
The paper general’s take is that “re-industrialisation has slowed down, but continues,” and highlights the positive developments recorded since 2022: 454 net openings and relevant upscales, including the 89 of last year.
This figure for 2024, however, stops at about half the levels of the last two years. The net balance of simple openings and closures, without considering expansions or reductions, is negative for the first time in three years.
“Although the momentum of re-industrialisation remains positive, it has slowed down over the year 2024, and other government indicators point to a continuation of this trend in 2025,” the paper says.
It mentions the increase in business failures, the increase of job-savings plans that could indicate a continuation of closures in the future, the reduction of environmental permits, and the reduction of foreign direct investments in 2024 compared to 2023.
[VP]