Norway

Political relations

In Norway’s recent white paper “Setting the course for Norwegian foreign and security policy”, France was mentioned as one of Norway’s strategic partners, alongside Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

France and Norway share the same values (including promoting peace, democracy, the rule of law and human rights, for example) and the same concerns in the international arena (such as on the Russia/Ukraine dispute, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, fighting the terrorist threat, controlling migratory flows, consolidating fragile States in Sub-Saharan Africa, the climate and development assistance). They attach great importance to peacekeeping operations and strengthening the UN’s effectiveness.

Energy and the climate are central to our bilateral relations, and Norway is France’s leading supplier of gas and one of our main suppliers of oil (behind Russia). The country is very active on environmental and sustainability programmes (SE4All for energy, REDD+ for forests) and has set ambitious national targets: reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2050. Its sovereign fund is withdrawing from polluting industries. France has requested that money from this fund be allocated to finance the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

In recent years, political and strategic relations between France and Norway have gained pace.

Economic relations

Trade in goods between France and Norway grew in 2018 thanks to the 17.2% increase in French exports driven by a strong rise in deliveries, particularly aircraft manufactured by Airbus. This growth was also supported by the success of electric vehicle solutions offered by French manufacturers (€100 million in 2018, as against €58 million in 2017). Imports fell meanwhile, because of falling hydrocarbon prices.

Our relations are close, particularly in the energy sector, which remains the centrepiece of the Norwegian economy. France purchases 40% of its gas from Norway. As such, French companies are present in the Norwegian hydrocarbons sector. Total has been the leading foreign investor in Norway for almost 50 years. With 103 licences, it is the country’s second-largest producer of hydrocarbons, behind the public national company Statoil. Meanwhile, Engie is the second-largest purchaser of Norwegian gas and has 30 prospection and production licences. France is also a leading importer of Norwegian salmon. Moreover, France is fourth-most-represented in the investments of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (6% in volume).

More than 200 French companies operate in Norway. They are highly involved in the hydrocarbons sector (including Total and Engie) and in oil services (Technip and Nexans). French companies are also present in machines and equipment (Schneider and Elektroscandia) and in the sector of wood and construction materials (Optimera). Around 100 Norwegian companies are present in France in 2016, including Yara (industrial fertilizers), Marine Harvest (sale and processing of seafood), and Sapa (extruded aluminium), which is the largest Norwegian employer in France. In total, Norwegian companies employ around 4,500 people in France.