• COVER PAGE

 •  INTRODUCTION

 •  EUROPEAN
    CHAMPION:
THE UNITED KINGDOM

 •  THE RUNNER-UP:
     FRANCE

 •  GERMANY GRABS
     THIRD PLACE

 •  BELGIUM, NO. 4

  •  POLAND TAKES
     FIFTH PLACE

 •  IRELAND, NO. 6

 •  HUNGARY TAKES
      SEVENTH PLACE

 •  SPAIN, NO. 8

 •  THE NETHERLANDS
     RECORD BREAKING
     YEAR

  •  AUSTRIA ROUNDS
     OUT THE TOP 10

As cited above, France attracted some 271 new and expanded corporate facilities last year, taking the runner-up position in Europe's facilities race. Moreover, the city of Paris and the Ile-de-France region also grabbed the No. 2 spots in the overall cities and regions competitions.

Of particular note in France's '98 location performance is the dramatic increase in North American investment. According to the Invest in France Agency (www.investinfrancena.org), investment by U.S. and Canadian firms more than doubled last year.

In the high-tech arena, the Sophia-Antipolis area, near Nice, continues to attract large numbers of facilities. Lucent Technologies recently chose Sophia-Antipolis for a communications software facility that will begin operations with 100 employees, and Oracle Corp. announced plans for a multimedia development center. One of France's newest call center success stories is Tampa, Fla.-based Sykes Enterprises, which selected Les Ulis, near Paris, for a 300-employee, 36,000-sq.-ft. (3,344-sq.-m.) operation.

Big expansions announced last year include 3M, which is investing US$26 million in its Pithiviers pharmaceuticals plant, and Johnson & Johnson, which plans to expand its prescription drugs facility in Val-de-Reuil.