French industry minister Francois Loos is calling on Japanese businesses to invest more in France despite recent rioting that spread across the country.

He stressed that his country introduced various policies to attract foreign investment, including tax benefits.

"The violence has almost subsided, and the scenes broadcast on TV are those of particular suburbs with high unemployment rates," Loos told a news conference Monday in Tokyo. "I believe the riots will in no way affect foreign investment."

Loos, who is visiting Japan with Clara Gaymard, president of the Invest in France Agency, pointed out that a major French business group has pledged to do business in areas where the riots occurred and improve the employment situation.

The minister said that earlier this year, France designated 67 "industrial clusters" across the nation where companies, research institutions and facilities for higher education are set up nearby to jointly achieve innovations in areas such as biotechnology, information technology, transport and the aerospace industry.

"Japanese and French companies may be rivals, but if they cooperate in technological development and play supplementary roles to one another, they can save time and win in global competitions," Gaymard said in urging Japanese businesses to take part in the cluster projects.

She said companies participating in the French projects will have their social security payments reduced in France.

To facilitate foreign investment, Paris has introduced not only corporate and income tax breaks but also simpler immigration procedures and preferential educational and working treatment for foreign businesspeople and their families, according to Gaymard.