France enjoys great success in manufacturing products for the nuclear industry, aerospace and defense. A major producer of telecommunications equipment and communication satellites, France excels in manufacturing ships, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles and automobiles. Cosmetics, perfume and wine are popular French products worldwide.
France’s number one export industry is aerospace, supported by the huge success of EADS, which produced Ariane space launch vehicles and Airbus planes, the aircraft builder Dassault and Safran, an engine manufacturer. Currently operating 58 nuclear power plants, France has unequalled expertise in nuclear energy. Areva, the largest nuclear energy company worldwide, is headquartered in France. Areva continues its research to improve safety in each new generation of nuclear reactors. With a high-speed train network that is unparalleled in the world, France exports this technology to Europe, Africa and Asia. France’s Sanofi S.A., a multinational pharmaceutical company, is involved in research and development, manufacturing and marketing. As of 2014, this company is the world's fifth largest in prescription sales, covering seven major therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, central nervous system, diabetes, internal medicine, oncology, thrombosis and vaccines. As one of the world’s largest wine producers, France manufactures 7 to 8 billion bottles of wine annually. The greatest names in the perfume industry, Chanel, Christian Dior and Estée Lauder, are French, and French perfumes lead the world in sales. L’Oreal, the French cosmetics company, is the world’s largest producer of cosmetics.
