Mouvement des Entreprises de France

Type:	Non-profit
Industry:	Public Relations
Founded:	1998
Headquarters:	55 avenue Bosquet Cedex 07 Paris, 75330
Country:	France
Website:	medef.fr
LinkedIn:	Medef
Key People
Laurence Parisot, President- CEO

Le Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF) serves as lobbyist group for businesses, ensuring that their voice is heard by decision makers in the local, regional or national level of the government.

It is the largest organization of employers in France with more than 700,000 member firms. The majority are SMEs, with less than 50 employees.

Background

MEDEF was established on October 27th, 1997 to replace the the National Council of French Employers (Conseil National du Patronat Français/CNPF), a major employers organization in France since 1968. It's objective is to represent and promote the ideas and interests of French entrepreneurs to union organizations and the state.

Mission

Medef's primary mission include:

• Defend and promote businesses of all sizes.
• Lobby on behalf of entrepreneurs to legislators regarding significant issues affecting the business sectors, such as business tax reforms.
• Lead social dialogues and negotiations on behalf of the business sector.
• Represent the voice of entrepreneurs and carry out their proposal to the government.
• Support change and help businesses cope difficulties, such as economic crisis.

The Executive Board

MEDEF is led by Laurence Parisot, who has served as the over-all president and chairman of the organization's executive board since July 5the, 2005. She was re-elected for a second term on July 1, 2010 and will serve for another three years.

The Executive Board sets the policies of MEDEF and it is chaired by the President with 45 members elected by the General Assembly, it meets once a month. The board is composed of 22 members representing professional associations, 12 members representing regional organizations, and 10 qualified persons designated by the President.

MEDEF International

The organization is composed of different networks such as MEDEF International, which promotes the development of French companies internationally and connects the entrepreneurs with the public by leading numerous foreign delegation of business leaders with a concrete project to a target country. This enables business leaders to meet high-level public or private manufacturers, identify foreign partners and projects and learn about the business environment of the foreign country.