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Penetration of the security market by foreign companies has stabilized in France, but at
an extremely high level. Entire sub-sectors of French private security industry in France
are dominated by foreign groups, as opposed to less than 20 percent overall ten years
ago. For example, in the cash in transit sector, non-French groups control 89 percent of
market share. Similar ratios exist in equipment/services for, professional monitoring and
many other market sub-sectors. Overall, foreign firms control about 43 percent of the
industry.
Fortunately, there are a few bright spots; homeland security equipment demand is
expected to be sustained, as with residential monitoring, CCTV, especially for digital
systems, and industrial security materials (lighting, gas detectors, hazmat warehousing
equipment, etc).
U.S. equipment and security technologies are well known for their innovation and quality.
Imports should remain strong, although competition is extremely severe from both
French and third country sources.
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Homeland Security products, including those for the police and other public order
entities, enjoyed a spectacular growth rate, at 27.1%. The persistence of terrorist threat
has fed the need to pursue investment in protective measures. The market is sustained
by sales of global solutions, integrating several types of equipment (cameras, biometric
access controls, physical barriers, for example), which are interconnected by customized
software also able to manage vast databases of information on individuals – travelers,
employees, etc. While this sector represents the most opportunity for sustained growth
in the industry, it is largely served by French giants such as EADS, Thalès, Sagem,
Gemalto or Canberra (Areva Group), making it very competitive for American firms.
Amongst the many technologies, the French are particularly interested in automatic
facial recognition systems, tracking video systems that analyze behavior and intelligent
cameras.
Closed Circuit TV (CCTV), especially for digital systems, represents one of the few
ongoing growth areas in the industrial security market in France. Recent changes in
French regulations will require that many existing systems be updated (cameras must be
linked to a video and a recording system; data must be stored in numerical format if the
system has more than 7 cameras; the video quality must be guaranteed if the images
are to be exported).
In the mid to long-term, the residential market represents an enormous potential for
suppliers of surveillance services – far fewer French homes are equipped as opposed to
in other EU countries. The high growth in high-speed Internet connections is driving
demand, as the major French telecom service providers are now teaming with home
monitoring service firms to provide widespread marketing and low cost services via highspeed
connections. The lack of equipment in French homes is equally applicable to
basic protective devices such as anti-intrusion alarms, fire alarms or fire extinguishers,
none of which are required by French home insurance policies and with which few
French homes are equipped at this time.
2/15/2008 Country Commercial Guide for France 43
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