From Paris with Love: What the City Can Really Teach us About the International Business Experience

Paris is no longer just the city of love, but it has become a main hub for international business, attracting thousands of international students every year.

The beautiful city of Paris is a well-connected city that paved the way for SMEs and introduced the concept of auto-entrepreneurship. So how is Paris creating the international business experience that other European cities are attempting to have?

Some Facts About the Serious Side of Paris…

• Paris was ranked the world’s best city for international students in 2016 (QS Best Student Cities). 67,000 foreign students study at universities in the Paris region.

• According to the Global Cities Investment Monitor, the Paris region is Europe’s second most attractive city region to foreign investors after London.
• 75% of multinational companies with over 500 employees chose the city to locate their European head office, many of them in La Défense business district.
• Paris is world’s number two city for headquarters of international organisations behind Brussels, ahead of London and New York City.

What is the Best Part of Doing International Business in Paris?

From a practical perspective, the compact city has an outstanding transport network and links to close-by airport hubs which makes the transits easy for business people on the go. Now, in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship, there’s always margin for newcomers because the French market takes time to embrace new ideas, especially coming from abroad and has a big potential of developing a loyal client base.

As for the more interesting part, Paris is already used to dealing with international companies as it is part of the European Union and geographically close to other major EU states. Small and medium size businesses are also given a helping hand by the law.

And when it comes to the working relationships, they are formed slowly but surely across time, which means it’s always smart move to have the right package and background to be able to build strong roots in the industry, especially since reputation is earned in the same kind of time-frame and remains solid.

The International Business Experience at EMLV Business School

The MSc International Business programme at EMLV business school explores the various cultural and geopolitical characteristics of today’s complex international business environment, particularly in the ever-growing digital world.

However, what adds a distinctive taste to the experience is that the cultural background of international students becomes in so many ways the core of many of the lessons because of the richness of their professional journey as well as the diverse market rules, cases, scenarios in their respective countries.

This is the story of EMLV’s MSc International Business students who share their experience on living and studying in Paris:

Learn more about building a career in international business in Paris.