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France
Employment legislation in France is probably the most restrictive in Europe, based on the principles of the socialist style of government. The employees' rights are very well protected. As in Holland, The French have a system that gives both the employee and employer a trial period, normally of 6 months, during which, the notice period for both sides can be immediate. After the trial period the notice period is automatically 3 months, after which the employee has the right of a (CDI) or Full Time Contract. After which, unless there has been gross misconduct or a serious breach of contract, it becomes extremely difficult to remove or dismiss the employee. Normally a deal must be struck between the employee/employer agreeing a lucrative severance package.
France's academic system boasts the highest standards in Europe and a qualified graduate is likely to be the one of the best trained and most capable in the region. Recently there had been a loss of many thousands of qualified and experienced staff to the UK due to higher wages needed to be paid and lower taxes in the UK, however this has not affected a good pool of well trained and qualified staff in the IT sector.
Salaries in France are comparatively lower than that of their European counterparts, however the additional costs to employers including full sick pay, high insurance, social, union costs, and medical. These all add up to make France one of Europes costliest areas for employment. It is not unusual for a 100% figure to be added to the employees' salary in order to budget for HR expenses. Commercial Property costs are quite competitive for Europe and there is reasonable availability of good standard office space (in Paris )
It is well known and true that the French prefer to conduct themselves in French although the belief that you have to be French to be successful there is misplaced. Generally, sales offices in France tend to be independent from the rest of Europe. Virtually all high level executives will have a good working knowledge of English, however generally speaking the average French nationals ability to speak English is low.
The vast majority of New Technology Companies are based near La Defense - Paris, the French 'Silicon Valley'. All of the top US software vendors are based in Paris, the only other location that can come anywhere near competing with Paris is Lyon in the South East. France has one of the most impressive rail-and road networks in Europe, however given that the likelihood of most of the business being conducted in Paris, this does not weigh as a great advantage.
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