Brexit: Île-de-France attracts thousands of jobs

In Brussels, we do not despair of finally finding an agreement with London to tie up Brexit; in Paris, at the end of the year, we can count the number of jobs created thanks to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. According to a latest estimate from Choose Paris Region, 4,997 direct jobs (in 184 companies) have been created or are in the process of being established in Île-de-France due to Brexit. That is almost half of those brought to Europe by the decision of our neighbors to leave us.

The financial sector is very widely represented, with 116 companies (JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Nomura, Banco do Brasil, Generali, etc.) and 2,082 jobs for the bank or 360 for asset management. In a press release, Choose Paris Region recalls the words of François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France: 150 billion euros in assets will be relocated to France by the end of 2020 according to him. This amount includes the repatriation of assets of French groups from their branches in the United Kingdom and those of entities authorized to ensure the continuity of their activities in France.

Long live European aid

This is the consequence in particular of the loss of the post-Brexit European passport. This provision allows a company authorized in one of the Member States of the European Union to exercise a financial activity in all of the other member countries of the EU. The many financial institutions located across the Channel, and operating on EU soil, had to either transfer their European headquarters to the continent or open a subsidiary within the EU. But other motivations have led nearly 184 companies to set up in Île-de-France: concerns about logistics, the increase in customs duties, or even, quite simply, the desire to continue to benefit from aid. European.

For the finance sector, “the objective of 10,000 direct jobs is still possible. Our conviction is that we should have an acceleration of relocations from London as soon as Brexit takes effect, ”underlined Arnaud de Bresson, Managing Director of Europoplace, the body promoting the Paris financial center.

According to Choose Paris Region, 133 companies, weighing 2,474 jobs, are still considering setting up in Île-de-France; on the other hand, 52 others, for 2,045 jobs, one time interested in the destination France, chose to put their luggage elsewhere.