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H.E. Céline Place examines French investment in Ireland
In 2025, as international trade faces renewed volatility — including tariff pressures, geopolitical fragmentation and mounting economic tensions — it has become more important than ever to showcase our long-term economic partnership with Ireland, and to reaffirm the strength of these ties within the European Union, writes Céline Place, Ambassador of France in Ireland.
The 2025 edition of the French Economic Footprint in Ireland report, released on November 13 during an event at the Jameson Distillery — owned by Pernod-Ricard, one of the most symbolic partnerships between French and Irish companies — leaves no doubt: France stands today as a reliable, valued and durable economic partner for Ireland.
Beyond the turbulence that increasingly affects global markets, French companies continue to demonstrate resilience, commitment and confidence in Ireland’s future.
The findings of the report are striking: France is the leading European investor in Ireland and the fourth largest worldwide.
France also remains Ireland’s first EU supplier of goods, illustrating the depth of our economic interdependence.
Our bilateral trade has continued to grow with remarkable strength.
Altogether, bilateral trade now approaches €50bn, a figure that reflects not only the scale of our economic ties but also the adaptability of the Franco-Irish partnership in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Goods trade reached €14bn at the end of 2024, representing a 30 per cent increase compared to 2019.
This dynamism is driven in particular by French exports of chemicals and cosmetics, which now account for 29% of France’s goods exports to Ireland.
Services trade expanded even more dynamically, rising to €35bn in 2024 — a 75 per cent increase from preCovid levels.
The report highlights clearly the presence of French business in Ireland.
Today, 340 subsidiaries, either French firms or Irish companies with more than 50 per cent French shareholding — such as eir or National Lottery — operate across all 26 Irish counties.
Together, they generate 45,000 jobs throughout the country.
Above all, these companies contribute to addressing Ireland’s most pressing structural challenges — deglobalisation, decarbonisation, demographics and digitalisation.
To face deglobalisation, firms such as Brittany Ferries are strengthening Ireland’s direct connectivity with continental Europe, reducing overdependence on the UK landbridge and enhancing supply-chain resilience.
To support decarbonisation, French linked companies operate nearly 680MW of renewable energy capacity in Ireland — around 10 per cent of the nation’s green capacity — while others, such as Schneider Electric, support the sustainability of critical infrastructure including data centres.
To help the population, pharmaceutical firms, care homes and non-profit companies such as Siel Bleu contribute to Ireland’s evolving social and healthcare needs through innovative, community-based services.
To strengthen digitalisation, eir — owned by French telecom entrepreneur Xavier Niel — now covers 99 per cent of the Irish population with high-speed fibre, strengthening the country’s competitiveness and regional cohesion.
These contributions illustrate that French investors are not only economic actors; they are active partners in Ireland’s long-term development.
This relationship is not one-sided. Increasingly, Irish companies are investing in France, where they find one of the EU’s most dynamic and attractive markets.
France already welcomes some of the most important Irish companies — such as Kingspan and Smurfit Westrock.
They find in France a wealth of expertise, talent to recruit, and support from public authorities, especially Business France.
Business France also manages the VIE (international graduate programme), which allows French companies in France and lrish companies with a footprint in France, to hire young French professionals at a very competitive cost.
On the same day, we also organised the France-Ireland Bilateral Economic Forum, which brought together more than 100 participants — French and Irish officials, businesses from both countries, and members of the wider business community — to discuss French-Irish cooperation for Europe’s future.
The Economic Forum was honoured by the presence of the Taoiseach, whose closing remarks reaffirmed the strategic importance of the European Single Market, the need to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and the strength of our bilateral partnership.
Source : https://businessplus.ie/news/celine-place-investment-ireland/
