NEWS COVERAGE - FRANCE

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS NEWS FROM THE PAST WEEK

March 6th , 2015
Business Sweden in Paris

FRANCE: ADDITIONAL FRENCH SAVINGS REQUESTED BY

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
The European Commission announced last week
potential new requests for economies that the French
Government must make to reach its budgetary deficit
goal of 3 % of GDP in 2017
The 50 Bn of savings until 2017 are insufficient,
according to the European Commission
The French Government has forecasted a growth of
1.7 % and 1.9 % in 2016 and 2017
An accelerated budget consolidation will be needed in
the near future, decreasing Frances structural deficit
in 2016 and 2017

30 Bn of additional savings, out of which 4 Bn that

are to be done by June 2015, would be required in order
to meet the European Commissions new expectations
Michel Sapin, the French Finance Minister, backed up
by Franois Hollande, has made it clear that his
Government will find room for new savings
Emmanuel Macron, the French Economy Minister,
argued on the other hand that future reforms saving
50 Bn will be enough to meet the deficit objective

Such action would have a negative impact on

economic growth, resulting in a forecast after savings,
of 0.7 % and 0.8 % in 2016 and 2017

SOURCES: 1, 2 & 3
BUSINESS SWEDEN

6 MARCH, 2015

FRANCE: INVESTMENTS IN THE BIOGAS INDUSTRY ARE

STRUGGLING
Background: Sgolne Royal, the French Energy Minister, has set the objective that 10 % of all distributed gas should
come from renewable sources by 2030
The French gas distributor GRDF anticipated the installation of 15 new centrals in 2014
Only six centrals are currently active, generating 68 GWh and supplying 3500 households with eco-friendly gas
Ten new centrals are projected to open in 2015, out of which two will open in March
The National Committee of Biogas will be appointed in March to deal with the decreasing investment rate

The agricultural methanogenesis investment rate is decreasing

The Ministry of Agriculture has set up a goal counting 1000 installed agricultural methanizers by 2020
40 new methanizers have been installed in 2014, compared to 70 methanizers on average a year during previous
years

Three aspects obstructing further investment, according to French farmers

1.

Important financial investments, 1.5 M on average

2.

Up to five hours of supervising the process per day

3.

Current validation period from authorities is three to five years

SOURCES: 4 & 5
BUSINESS SWEDEN

6 MARCH, 2015

EUROPE: OBJECTIVE OF DEVELOPING A GLOBAL

STANDARD FOR THE 5G TECHNOLOGY
Gnther Oettinger, the European Commissioner of the Economy, visited the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on
Wednesday
He addressed the importance of strategic partnerships and investments which could make Europe the leader in 5G
technology by 2020
The European Union has developed its own joint investment program, called 5G PPP, with European telecom giants
such as Orange, Ericsson and Nokia

700 M of subsidies coupled with private investments

The current objective is to develop a European global standard by 2016 in order to start developing 5G solutions by
2020
Having signed a contract with South Korea, promoting the development of standards, the EU wants increased
cooperation with other regions

Strong competition from Asian economies on developing a standard:

South Korea has revealed an investment plan of 1.1 Bn
The Chinese telecom company Huawei is said to invest 600 M until 2018

SOURCES. 6 & 7
BUSINESS SWEDEN

6 MARCH, 2015

EUROPE: ERICSSON SIGNS AN OUTSOURCING

CONTRACT WITH ORANGE
Ericsson has announced that it will manage parts of the French telecom company Oranges network
The contract encapsulates five countries: Spain, Belgium, Romania, Slovakia and Moldavia
As a way of cutting costs for Orange, the contract will enable Ericsson to manage the operations and the
maintenance of the network
The contract has a duration of five years and will add an additional 30 million to the 1 billion subscribers connected to
networks currently managed by Ericsson

SOURCES: 8 & 9
BUSINESS SWEDEN

6 MARCH, 2015

SOURCES
1. Les Echos 02/03/2015, Dficit: Bruxelles rclame Paris plus que 50 milliards dconomies,
http://www.lesechos.fr/monde/europe/0204189379867-deficit-bruxelles-met-la-pression-sur-la-france-1097401.php
2. Les Echos 03/03/2015, Economies supplmentaires: Paris dit non Bruxelles,
http://www.lesechos.fr/journal20150303/lec1_france/0204194462788-economies-supplementaires-paris-dit-non-a-bruxelles-1098198.php
3. Les Echos 05/03/2014, Dficit public: Angela Merkel indulgente avec la France,
http://www.lesechos.fr/monde/europe/0204200383777-merkel-distribue-un-bon-point-a-la-france-pour-ses-reformes-1098790.php
4. Les Echos 03/03/2015, Gaz : la filire biomthane dmarre doucement,
http://www.lesechos.fr/journal20150303/lec2_industrie_et_services/0204166778432-gaz-la-filiere-biomethane-demarre-doucement-1098168.php
5. Les Echos 03/03/2015, La mthanisation agricole ne tient pas ses promesses,
http://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/energie-environnement/0204194158644-la-methanisation-agricole-ne-tient-pas-ses-promesses-1098280.php
6. Les Echos 04/03/2015, 5G: lEurope veut tre la pointe dans lultra-haut dbit mobile,
http://www.lesechos.fr/tech-medias/hightech/0204198350349-5g-leurope-veut-etre-a-la-pointe-dans-lultra-haut-debit-mobile-1098456.php
7. 5G PPP 05/03/2015, 5G Association Members,
http://5g-ppp.eu/our-members/
8. Les Echos 04/03/2015, Ericsson va grer certains rseaux dOrange,
http://www.lesechos.fr/tech-medias/hightech/0204198062282-ericsson-va-gerer-certains-reseaux-dorange-1098445.php
9. Reuters 03/03/2015, Ericsson wins managed services contract for Orange operations in five European countries,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/03/ericsson-managed-services-orange-idUSASN0006R420150303

BUSINESS SWEDEN

6 MARCH, 2015