France 2025: Growing opportunities for Finnish Businesses

Last week Finncham and CCFF Chambre de Commerce Franco Finlandaise hosted a webinar titled “France 2025: Economic Outlook and Business Opportunities in a Transforming Market”. The session brought together experts to share valuable insights into France’s current economic landscape and future prospects for Finnish companies.

As the second-largest economy in the EU, France is showing solid growth even amid political uncertainties, indicating that the market remains both stable and attractive. However, France is only the 9th commercial partner for Finland, the potential for growth is substantial.

We explored several sectors where Finnish expertise and innovation can bring added value. Opportunities emerge particularly in:

  • Defence and security solutions

  • Health and well-being technologies

  • Energy (renewable & nuclear) and sustainability systems

  • Digitalization, AI, and quantum technologies

Additionally, collaboration is not limited to bilateral projects — there are promising prospects for joint operations in third markets, where Finnish-French partnerships can create strong global offerings.

During the webinar, participants also received practical advice for entrepreneurs and businesses entering the French market. Success often relies on:

  • Investing in personal relationships

  • Localising communication and messaging

  • Being patient, persistent, and consistent

We also addressed some common misconceptions Finns may have about France, like complexity and French language. One frequent assumption is that strikes significantly hinder business operations. While strikes do occur, particularly within public sector organizations, the private sector functions normally, and France consistently demonstrates strong resilience.

Culturally, we see a growing connection between the two countries. French interest in Finland — particularly travel to Lapland — continues to rise, and over 3,500 French students studied in Finland last year, strengthening long-term familiarity, networks and mutual understanding.

A warm thank you to our speakers and participants for making the event insightful and inspiring — Peter Eriksson, Kirsikka Lehto-Asikainen, Matti Anttonen, Pierre Vacherand of Kontio and our host Mikko Koljonen.

Picture: Anthony Choren

 

Anne HATANPÄÄ