Report: French developer tax credits imminent

It is well known that Canada has been wooing the games industry by offering an assortment of R&D credits and tax breaks for companies setting up shop on its shores. Developers, such as Electronic Arts, Koei, Capcom, and Ubisoft, all have bases in Canada, and it recently became the third biggest producer of games internationally--pushing the UK into fourth place.

Back in March, Paul Jackson, director general of the European game trade body Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, said, "The Canadians have driven a tank over the French Citroen and have now parked on our lawn. It is becoming very challenging to keep core development studios here."

However, it looks as if the French Citroen has got a bit of life in it yet. At the end of December, the EU Commission made a decision to allow France to award tax breaks to game developers.

French prime minister Francois Fillon, speaking during a trip to Darkworks studio in Paris, said the initiative is going to come into effect very soon--in his own words, "in the coming days." According to Les Echoes [registration required], Fillon also commented that he wanted the French government to "be the least restrictive possible" with the digital economy.

About 9,000 employees work in the production of video games in France, and big players Ubisoft, Vivendi, and Infogrames are based in the country.