NEWS COVERAGE - FRANCE

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS NEWS FROM THE PAST WEEK

Business Sweden, Paris
May 16th, 2014
Haagen-Dazs invests in the Arras
The ice cream maker Hagen -Dazs has invested 19
million in a new production line at its site in Tilloy -les-
Mofflaines ( Pas- de- Calais ).
New command for STX France
American Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced that
an agreement had been reached for the construction of
one of the largest vessels "Oasis" , the fourth in the fleet
and the second to be built in the shipyards of Saint-
Nazaire
The National Security Agency unveiled its roadmap
to make cybersecurity a tricolor specialty.
A label "made in France " for cybersecurity products
was created, a mix between investment / public sector
to structure the public funds , investments and
supports exports
Still a battle between the government and the two
parties GE and Alstom

BUSINESS SWEDEN 16 MAY, 2014 2
THE PAST WEEK
On the Thursday morning there was an avalanche of bad
numbers announced by lINSEE
No growth, decline in household consumption, sharp
decline in investment, negative contribution of foreign
trade, contraction in the construction sector
Confirming that France is lagging behind Germany
(+ 0.8% in the first quarter)

Franois Hollande, commented the performance:
Recovery is not completed but the reversal happens
In this ocean of bad news, we can see some light:
The sharp recovery in manufacturing output (+ 1%)T
The small increase (+0.3%) in services
And slight export growth
BUSINESS SWEDEN 16 MAY, 2014 3
FRANCE IS NOT CONFIRMING THE POSITIVE
PERFORMANCE FROM Q4 2013
The confidence of French consumers increased,
according to a Nielsen study
By 8% to stand at 59.
Beyond France, four other major world economic powers
see progress consumer confidence,
+ 6 points in the United States (100)
+ 4 points in Germany (99)
+ 3 points in the United Kingdom (87)
+ 1 point in Japan (81)
A growth in the car industry is usually a good first sign of
consumer confidence and confidence of the market
Despite political uncertainty prevailed just before the
municipal elections, and the unemployment rate
remained historically high confidence is growing.
Nevertheless, caution is still required
37% of the French think that is always a bad time to
buy goods and services.
58% saying they are trying to cut costs in different
fields
BUSINESS SWEDEN 16 MAY, 2014 4
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE RISING DESPITE ECONOMIC
SKEPTICISM
The manager of the electricity grid, EDF, said they will
invest 124 million euros in Ile-de-France in 2014,
representing an increase of 7% compared to last year.
By 2030, the demand of the region is expected to
increase to 2,200 MW, the equivalent of two nuclear
power plants.
"By 2019, we expect to invest at least 100 million
annually," sais an RTE representative, Jean-Louis
Muscagorry, cited by AFP. When speaking at a press
briefing held in La Defense.
To cope, RTE has planned to appeal to a variety of
innovations in components, new cables for underground
lines, transformer stations, methods of intervention with
robots and drones, and networks intelligent.

The energy transition will also mobilize a large share of
investment connections to future offshore wind farms in
Seine-Maritime and Calvados, and deployment of
onshore wind farms in Picardy.

BUSINESS SWEDEN 16 MAY, 2014 5
BIG ELECTRICITY INVESTMENT FOR FUTURE GRAND
PARIS
Rapid Play, located in Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhne)
customizes controller for PlayStation and Xbox games.
They are creating a limited edition for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Provencal SMEs intervened for Microsoft on a limited set
of consoles and controllers signed "Zlatan Ibrahimovic",
the star of the Paris Saint-Germain.
They also customized the name and number for the
sticks dedicated by the Swedish footballer to his
teammates
Their turnover quadrupled in one year's sales (1.98
million euros in 2013), the start-up had 17 employees
and will double the size of its crew this year

BUSINESS SWEDEN 16 MAY, 2014 6
CUSTOMIZED XBOX FOR ZLATAN MADE IN FRANCE
THE PAST WEEK

http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/rte-renforce-ses-investissements-pour-repondre-aux-besoins-du-grand-paris.N259358
http://www.lsa-conso.fr/embellie-du-moral-des-consommateurs-francais,172018
http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2014/05/15/croissance-la-contre-performance-francaise_4418966_3234.html
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e62c628e-d5b9-11e3-83b2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz31tVVrpFW
http://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/20140509trib000829108/stx-france-construira-le-paquebot-geant-oasis-4.html







BUSINESS SWEDEN 16 MAY, 2014 7
SOURCES