This country profile presents recent policy actions and current issues related to inclusive entrepreneurship policy. It also benchmarks recent trends in entrepreneurship and self-employment for women, youth, seniors, immigrants and people with disabilities in France relative to the average for the European Union.
The Missing Entrepreneurs 2023
Policies for Inclusive Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment
Overall, the share of people starting and managing new businesses (i.e. TEA rate) was marginally higher in France than the European Union (EU) average for the period 2018-22 (8% vs. 7%). The shares were also slightly higher among women (7% in France vs. 6% in the EU) and seniors (50-64 years old) (5% vs. 4%). However, young people (18-30 years old) were less likely to be starting and managing new businesses relative to the EU average (7% vs. 9%). If everyone was as active in business creation as 30‑49 year old men, there would be an additional 800 000 early-stage entrepreneurs. Of these, nearly 80% would be women. The self-employment rate was below the EU average over the last decade but increased slightly while the EU average decreased. Nonetheless there was a gender gap in 2022 (9% for women vs. 13% for men).
In 2021, the Government of France renewed a framework agreement with the Bpifrance agency in support of women’s entrepreneurship for the period 2021-23. This framework aims to foster the development of better entrepreneurship support, improve access to finance for women entrepreneurs, and fight gender stereotypes in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The government also introduced the “Inclusion through self-employment programme” (Programme inclusion par le travail indépendant) in 2021, which aims to facilitate access to business creation for all regardless of age. This programme provides free support to aspiring business creators who are vulnerable in the labor market or face otherwise specific difficulties. While the programme does not target specific groups, it features a personalised diagnostic tool that considers many characteristics and factors related to inclusive entrepreneurship.
A wide range of support programmes target youth entrepreneurs, including local, regional and national initiatives. Financial support is available for youth entrepreneurs and is often accompanied by soft support (i.e. coaching, mentoring, etc.). France has a special student entrepreneur administrative status for young people starting a business while still enrolled in higher education. There are a range of public and non‑governmental organisations that offer support, which often target students and other youth separately (e.g. L’esprit d’entreprendre, PEPITE target students, CréaJeunes target youth not currently in education). For example, the “1 Youth, 1 Solution” Recovery Plan (“1 jeune, 1 solution”) is a new financial initiative dedicated to supporting young entrepreneurs (under 30 years old), which provides a EUR 3 000 grant.
Note: In Panel a, the data for the EU median for SME lending excludes the following countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and Romania. The EU median for the entrepreneurship skills indicator excludes: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Malta. In Panels b-d, the data for the EU average refers to a population-weighted average and excludes Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Malta. Please see Chapter 10 for detailed notes on the figures.
Source: (Eurostat, 2023; GEM, 2023; OECD, 2023). Please see Chapter 10 for full citations.