A premier industrial exhibition in Paris, in which some 1,100 exhibitors are participating including many with business ties to the Middle East, is taking place at a time when French industry is expanding in several spheres.

Visitors from the Middle East will join others in viewing at Elec 2004, the International Exhibition for Electricity, Automation, Measurement & Control and Lighting, exceptional technology and high standards. The exhibition takes place at Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre from December 6 to 10, 2004.
An Elec 2004 spokesman points out that the French gross national product has grown during the summer and growth of 2.5 per cent is expected in 2004. Investment is picking up again, with growth no longer underpinned solely by consumption. The electrical, electronics and building industries are all experiencing the positive effects of the recovery.
“For example, sales of electrical equipment were higher for the first six months of 2004 than during the same period last year,” reports Gimelec, the French industry association for electrical equipment automation and related services.
The Elec spokesman stresses that higher investment levels are generating a significant volume of business that is gradually affecting sales of low-voltage distribution and automation equipment, although sales of low-voltage equipment are benefiting more indirectly from the evolution.
A notable beneficiary of the improvement is the Schneider Electric Group, an exhibitor at Elec 2004, which has had a record first-half 2004 group sales. The spokesman quoted the company as saying that group sales grew by about five per cent in France, Spain and the UK.
The French construction industry is also on the move and, according to statistics which the spokesman said came from the Ministry of Equipment, the number of building permits rose 30 per cent between April and June compared with the same period in 2003, while work begun on sites increased by 17.2 per cent. As many as 112,522 building permits were registered for the period and work was begun on 91,055 sites.
“Everything indicates that the electricity sector professions will be increasingly solicited to supply ever-higher levels of comfort, safety and communication for homes,” the spokesman said.
He quoted Capeb, a confederation of small building industry companies employing craftsmen, as saying that the volume of work of electrical contractor businesses increased 1 per cent in the second quarter of 2004 compared to the same period in 2003 for companies with less than 10 employees and more than two per cent for those employing between 10 and 20 workers.