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mid concerns about "economic patriotism" and "un société bloqué," corporate projects continue to make their debut in France, helped by a new cluster of tax breaks and government reforms.
   Mega- projects of international collaboration are also making progress, led by one of Site Selection's Top Deals of the Year for 2005, the US$12- billion international thermonuclear fusion reactor (ITER) project in Cadarache, a half- hour northeast of Aix- En- Provence.
   Already 20 years in the making, ITER still has decades of work ahead. But most would agree that November marked a turning point, when ministers from the seven parties to ITER (China, European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States of America) came together to sign the agreement to establish the international organization that will implement the project.
   "ITER will also open up new prospects for many sectors in the high- tech industries, public works and engineering," said Jacques Chirac, president of the French Republic, adding that it would also have "tremendous knock- on effects in terms of scientific, academic and industrial image, attractiveness and activity. France is proud and pleased that the international community has chosen this country, bearing witness to the quality and competitiveness of our teams and our environment."
   In his speech, Dr. Raymond Orbach, under secretary for science with the U.S. Department of Energy, called ITER "the first stand- alone, truly international, large- scale scientific research effort in the history of the world. It will serve as a model for future collaborative large scale science projects."
   ITER will be the world's largest experimental facility to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power. ITER's construction costs alone are estimated at $6.6 billion over 10 years, most of which will be awarded in the form of contracts to industrial companies and fusion research institutions. Europe will contribute roughly half of the costs of construction, while the other six parties to this joint international venture will contribute equally to the balance of costs. While jobs and contracts pertaining to the project will be distributed around the world, the immediate region expects to see 3,000 direct and indirect jobs created because of the project.
   The organization will be responsible for and technically oversee all aspects of the project, including construction licenses, in- kind hardware procurements from the parties to the agreement and operations, which are expected to begin in 10 years and

Doing Business Scoreboard Shows Ground to Make Up    The World Bank's Doing Business Index 2006 found decidedly mixed results for France, in keeping with independent findings by others on the country's business climate. In a report on the progress, or lack thereof, of the European Union's Lisbon Strategy, announced in 2000, Cambridge Econometrics is not sanguine about France. Asked what the country needs to do in the areas of labor and regulatory reform, Graham Hay, business economist for Cambridge Econometrics, tells Site Selection, "I think first of all the French public have to be more accepting of the need for reform. Beyond that, the French state has to stop protecting 'strategic' sectors from foreign takeovers, as has been seen in the utilities market. … In the labor market the French government failed to push through reforms to promote the employment of under- 26- year- olds in 2006, but that does not mean it should forget the issue. Making it easier for companies to release and hire workers would help to promote labor market mobility. Being less resistant to migration would also help. France only removed immigration restrictions on eastern EU workers in May 2006 – two years after the EU states acceded – and even then it is a gradual easing of restrictions over 2006- 09, rather than an instant and total relaxation, despite shortages in some sectors."

last 20 years more, followed by the decommissioning of the plant.
   The 99- acre (40- hectare) site was chosen in part because Cadarache already hosts the Tore- Supra super- conducting fusion experiment at the CEA Cadarache Research Centre, one of the biggest civil nuclear research centers in Europe.
   But nothing would have happened without the financial agreement signed on October 9 by local authorities, including the PACA Regional Council, the Communauté des Pays d'Aix and six Departmental Councils: Bouches- du- Rhone, Var, Alpes- de- Haute- Provence, Hautes- Alpes, Vaucluse and Alpes- Maritimes. Their support amounts to US$618 million (€467 million), in addition to the $222 million (€168 million) coming from the European Union and the French government.
   "If there had not been total unanimity on the part of local government to commit to substantial financial involvement," said Regional Prefect Christian Fremont, "ITER would not have been sited at Cadarache."
   The financial package will be allocated toward the experiment, training, land management, and transport infrastructure, including road work on the 62- mile (100- km.) road between the project site and Fos Harbor, in order to accommodate wide loads.
   Just as enticing to multinationals is the construction of a K- 12 international school by the Provence- Alpes- Côte d'Azur region, by means of an international architect competition. The first phases of both the road and education work are due to be complete in mid- 2009.