About 250,000 enterprises are started every year in France. What

drives people to set up their own businesses ? Why do government

and specialized agencies encourage them to do so ?

The actual concept of business creation is not as clear as one might

think : for statisticians, it includes both outright start-ups and some

takeovers-two forms of creation that may serve different purposes.

Business creations have an impact on the production system and on

employment. They can sometimes mitigate unemployment, as

founders create their own jobs. They can also be a means of bringing

innovations to market.

The robustness of the initial business plan and the conditions in which

it is financed are critical to the survival of a new enterprise. Support

for entrepreneurs is therefore a key factor in the start-up and

development of business ventures.

INSEE's Business Statistics Directorate has invited business

leaders, academics, managers of agencies involved in business

creation, and statisticians to share their experiences and points of

view on this ever-topical issue.