Why are French companies expanding abroad?

We see that French companies (especially large companies) have expanded significantly abroad, and have invested much or made acquisitions abroad. What accounts for this behaviour of large French companies? We can imagine that it is due to: The high cost of producing in France, which gives an incentive to produce abroad; The high level of the corporate tax burden in France; The recruitment difficulties in France; The small size of the French domestic market, which gives an incentive to gain access to other , faster-growing markets; French companies’ capacity to run up debt to finance investments or acquisitions abroad. All these explanations seem relevant.