Concerning industrial activity in the European economy, France is n°3 immediately behind Germany and the United Kingdom. Eastern Europe, Near East and Mideast and Africa represent about 80% of the industrial exchanges. Eight active sectors dominate the economy:

The Automobile Industry :
In 2004, French car makers produced worldwide 5,93 millions units and French sales represents 15% of world sales. The French car makers, which presence is very strong in Europe, plan to conquer emerging countries markets by setting up in Brasil or China.

Material Processing :
Michelin is the world leader in tire production. Saint-Gobain holds the same position in the production of glass and is the second largest exporter. France is 4th in the world concerning the plastics industry, which count 4000 companies.

Construction and Public Works :
The construction sector turnover reached 137 billion Euros in 2004 thanks to the construction of new housing : 300 000 building sites opened, an 16% increase related to 2003. This sector employs about 294 000 companies and 1,3 millions workers.

Telecommunications Industry :
France access to be the third european country with most high bandwidth internet access (6.1 billion internet access).
In France, 48 millions people own a mobile phone for private use, it corresponds to 69% of the french population.
Alcatel is the world leader in undersea cable networks. The new information and communication technologies sector represents a share of 11% in the turnover of the french industry.

Aerospace Industry:
EADS european group (European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Company), as a result of the merger of French Aérospatial Matra, German DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and Spanish CASA, is ranked n°3 in the world. Arianespace, that belongs to EADS group, is the world leader of the space tranportation.

Agro Business :
With a turnover of 124 billion Euros in 2004, this sector is the leading French industry.
The 3 180 businesses in the sector employ 396 400 people (third French employer).

The Chemical Industry :
This sector employs 231 424 people with a turnover of 95,6 billion Euros. In 2004, this sector was the 1st exporter (except agro business and energy). France was the 2nd european productor and the 3rd world exporter of chemical and pharmaceuticals products.

Luxury Goods and Fashion :
This sector generates a turnover of 43.7 billion Euros. With the world leader, l’Oréal, and many other well known companies in the field, France is the first exporter in the world of fragrances and cosmetics, dominating 35% of the market.

Nowadays, The industrial structure is characterised by the predominance of SMIs (enterprises of 20 to 499 employees). In 2004, they constituted 96% of the companies and employed 40% of the industrial workforce. They represented 16% of the exports.