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RETROSPECTIVE |
| MIDWEST |
| VISITE DE L'AMBASSADEUR DE FRANCE M. François DELATTRE, Ambassadeur de France aux Etats-Unis s'est rendu à trois reprises dans le Midwest dans le courant du mois de mai : à Détroit le 6, à Minneapolis les 11 et 12 et à Chicago le 20. |
| MICHIGAN |
| Le 6 mai dernier, l'Ambassadeur de France s'est rendu à Détroit à l'occasion de la soirée de gala de la Chambre de commerce franco-américaine. Cette année deux groupes étaient à l'honneur, ESI Group, leader et pionnier des solutions de prototypage virtuel, et le constructeur automobile Cadillac qui se sont vus décerner le prix de "l'Entreprise de l'année". « Les Entreprises de l’Année 2011 choisies par la FACC illustrent avec brio des entreprises s’efforçant de développer les échanges commerciaux entre deux grands pays et permettent ainsi de favoriser l’emploi et la prospérité dans le Michigan », selon Robert A. Hudson, Président de la Section du Michigan de la FACC. En savoir plus : Businesswire et Cadillac Group. En marge de cette manifestation l'Ambassadeur s'est rendu à Lansing, capitale de l'Etat, pour rencontrer Rick Snyder, le nouveau gouverneur du Michigan. |
| MINNESOTA |
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 Execs without borders: Esprit de corps evident at France-Minnesota event Posted: 3:25 pm Thu, May 12, 2011 By Dan Emerson
France’s ambassador to the United States was quite frank in a talk Thursday about doing business in his nation. Ten years ago, starting a business there was a “bureaucratic nightmare,” the ambassador, Francois Delattre, told attendees at a Minnesota International Center symposium in Minneapolis. “Now, it can be done in 15 minutes online,” Delattre told a Minnesota crowd interested in doing more business in France. Delattre was among dignitaries, chief executive officers and trade representatives at the symposium at the Radisson Plaza. Among the speakers: the CEOs of General Mills and Carlson Cos., and Gov. Mark Dayton, who briefly outlined the history of France-Minnesota relations dating to the voyageurs of the 17th century. France is steadily increasing its trade with Minnesota. Last year, the state’s exports to France totaled $356.5 million, a 21 percent increase from 2009, according to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. France ranks 16 th in the dollar amount of exports of Minnesota’s manufactured goods. France has become “a very pro-business country,” Delattre said. He ticked off improvements including setting up “the largest R&D tax credit in the industrialized world, putting more flexibility in the labor market, drastically reducing public spending (one in every two retiring public servants is not being replaced) and cutting red tape.” As a result, 650,000 new businesses launched in France last year, he said. U.S. companies doing business in France still face challenges, but there has been a significant improvement in American businesses’ understanding of the dissimilar legal and banking systems, said Pierre-Antoine Gailly, a speaker who represented the French-American Chamber of Commerce and Paris Chamber of Commerce. He attributed the improvement to the availability of better consulting and legal firms. “And common knowledge has increased,” he said, “because more people have had experience in dealing across the ocean.” Within the last 20 years, Gailly said, companies on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean have gained better understanding of how to do business internationally. Elsa Berry, president of the French-American Chamber of Commerce of New York, agreed that U.S. companies are more adept at mastering the nuances to succeed in France. “Companies have become much more sophisticated and better prepared,” she said. “The French government has cut some of the red tape.” One of the U.S. speakers was General Mills Chief Executive Officer Ken Powell, whose company is acquiring France’s Yoplait, the second largest yogurt maker in the world. Golden Valley-based General Mills has had a presence in France since 1961 and owns several food-processing plants there, Powell said. For General Mills, acquiring the $60 billion food company represents “a tremendous growth opportunity for us,” Powell said. “They have licensed Yoplait in countries around the world, and that will open doors to emerging markets around the world for us,” Powell said. As recently as a decade ago, international sales accounted for less than 5 percent of General Mills’ revenue, he said. Another Minnesota business represented at the forum was Minnetonka-based Carlson Cos., whose chief executive officer, Hubert Joly, is a native of France. Two of Carlson’s three business units are based in France, and the company has 23 hotels there, Joly said. For any U.S. company to succeed abroad, Joly emphasized the importance of forming international management teams so that “people get to know each other and trust one another.” “To succeed,” he said, “companies need to think of themselves as global companies, not as American, French or Chinese companies.” He also noted that “it may be easier to lead a global company from France than from the U.S. because China and India are so much closer. It’s a nice geographic advantage.” One perennial concern for U.S. companies considering doing business in France has been differences in labor practices and laws, including France’s 35-hour workweek. “The reality is quite different” from the perceived labor-related challenges, Joly said. “The World Economic Forum reported that the number of work hours lost because of strikes in France was one-tenth the number lost in the U.S., even adjusting for the differences in size,” Joly said. “Strikes in the U.S. may be less visible, but they are very pervasive. Most countries find our (France’s) workforce incredibly valuable and productive.” He offered one labor-related caveat for the Americans. “If you have to reduce the workforce, the process is a little different in France; it costs more money, takes more time and is more complex from a legal standpoint,” Joly said. Powell of General Mills seconded the notion that France is a good place to do business. “France is very focused on attracting investment and specifically on supporting R&D at all levels,” he said. “The French educational system is very strong; the engineers and technicians we hire are the best in the world. “The French plants are among the most productive plants we have in the world,” he said. “There are always labor issues, but we’ve had a very cooperative relationship with unions in France.” http://www.micglobe.org/documents/Francestory.doc |
| CHICAGO |
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| 23 MAI : SEMINAIRE SUR L'EUROPE A L'UNIVERSITE DE CHICAGO |
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| EXPOSITION |
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