Life science Industry in France has been expanding up to the point that it is the second largest in Europe, only behind Germany. The Industry employs 99,000 workers and the total spending in health accounts for 11.2% of the Gross Domestic Product, above the Netherlands (9.9%) and the UK (9.8%). In 2021, Emmanuel Macron, aiming to return France to its position as world leader of innovation in healthcare in Europe, announced the Health Innovation Plan under France 2030 with a budget of €7.5 billion. The investment plan is to develop French promising start-ups in the health care sector, industrialization, national projects and IPCEI (Important Project of common European Interest). Most of the initiatives, institutions and start-ups are located in Paris. Medical universities like Paris Sciences et Lettres and Sorbonne University, constantly ranked among the top 15 European universities by The Times University, attract funding and talent that is key to become Paris as the European life science hub.
Beyond Paris, Lyon has known how to position itself as a stronghold of the Pharma Biotech sector, at the forefront of one of Europe’s largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets. But, initiatives and agencies such as Eurasanté in Lille look to develop projects and startups all over France. The most promising sectors of the life science industry are biotechnology and drug discovery.