Boasting the fifth greatest financial system on the planet, France is an financial powerhouse that’s more and more pleasant to entrepreneurs, each home-grown and from abroad. As the biggest nation by measurement within the European Union, France enjoys thriving agricultural, manufacturing, tech, service and tourism industries, and abounds with alternatives for enterprise individuals seeking to begin a enterprise in France.
Blessed with lovely landscapes as various because the wild Atlantic coast of Brittany, snowy slopes of Chamonix and high-rise modernity of Paris, France is really various and gives one thing for everybody. However whereas each space of France has one thing particular to supply, for a lot of aspiring expats, it is the south of France that holds essentially the most attract – with mellow countryside and a Mediterranean glamour that is onerous to withstand.
There are a selection of explanation why expats are drawn to the south of France, from 300 days of sunshine a yr to the promise of a brand new, extra relaxed way of life, however there are additionally entrepreneurial motivations for beginning (or increasing) a enterprise on this space. The laid-back ambiance and Mediterranean tradition of the south of France make these areas no much less dynamic, and enterprise individuals from each sector can discover success right here.
In observe as much as our information, The place’s Finest to Begin a Enterprise in Northern France, this text explores the areas of the sunny south of France, and the relative benefits to companies seeking to put their roots there.
Occitanie
Occitanie is the second largest area in France, bordered by Spain and Andorra over the Pyrénées within the southwest, and the Mediterranean sea to the southeast. A various area with quite a lot of landscapes, Occitanie is wealthy in cultural heritage, and is dwelling to the whole lot from Roman amphitheatres to charming medieval villages.
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The area additionally has welcoming and welcoming climate, with gentle winters and wonderful summers, and a extra Mediterranean really feel to its delicacies, with seafood taking part in a starring position. With a heat and delicate shoreline contrasting with its western mountainous landscapes, Occitanie can also be excellent for lovers of the outside – whether or not their explicit penchant is for climbing, snowboarding, rafting or just sunbathing.
● Occitanie is the placement two main cities, Montpellier and the area’s capital Toulouse.
● Montpellier is dwelling to one of many oldest universities on the planet and has a thriving scholar inhabitants, which includes practically 25% of its inhabitants.
● During the last 30 years, the town has benefited from a few of the strongest financial and demographic progress within the nation.
● Town of Montpellier can also be a pacesetter within the video video games business, with a flourishing enterprise and artistic tradition the place a number of startup studios launch every year. In 2018, Ubi World ranked the Enterprise & Innovation Centre (BIC) in Montpellier the second-best incubator on the planet, rising across the main video video games firm Ubisoft, which was established in Montpellier within the Nineteen Nineties. (See our put up Methods to begin an indie online game firm).
● Toulouse is the centre of the European aerospace business, and was present in rankings performed by L’Categorical and Challenges to be essentially the most dynamic metropolis in France. The Toulouse airport’s busiest companies are people who fly to Parisian airports, with tens of millions of passengers travelling between the 2 cities yearly.
● Occitanie is extraordinarily effectively related, with its place by the ocean making certain that different areas on the Mediterranean coast are accessible by boat. Near each Spain and Italy, the area has an distinctive location that enables entrepreneurs to succeed in all European markets.
● With eight motorways passing by way of the area, two high-speed practice stations, three worldwide airports and France’s largest community of regional seaports (together with fishing, industrial and river ports), Occitanie has a superb logistical community that companies can benefit from.
● The area ranks first in its fee of enterprise creation, in addition to having fun with wholesome R&D expenditure and the strongest GDP progress in France.
● Whereas France, on the whole, is thought for winemaking, Occitanie is especially well-known for wine manufacturing, with sweeps of vineyards stretching throughout the nice and cozy countryside and a complete of 263,000 hectares “below vine”. Creating a transparent third of all of the wine made in France, the area boasts 24,000 wine farms and 380 co-operatives. The natural wine business can also be significantly effectively represented right here, with 36% of the natural vineyards in France discovered within the area. (See our put up Methods to begin a wine enterprise in France.)
● Trade, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, analysis and a coastal financial system all thrive in Occitanie, as the variety of the area applies not solely to its panorama but additionally its multi-sector financial system.
● Occitanie has quite a lot of nice areas to begin and develop a enterprise, together with the cities of Toulouse and Montpellier, and several other industrial and enterprise parks, like Occitanie Zone Économique (OZE). There are additionally “competitiveness hubs” throughout a variety of sectors.
● This area is the 4th hottest vacationer space in France, with 30 million guests attracted yearly by the Mediterranean seashores, mountain landscapes and chic spas.
● Occitanie has the third-largest scholar inhabitants in France, with 230,000 individuals attending its two universities and 35 Grandes Écoles. There are additionally practically 30,000 researchers within the area.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
The most important of the 13 metropolitan areas and situated within the southwest of France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine is famed for its high quality of life, cultural sights and breathtaking landscapes. Dwelling to the characterful Basque nation, a number of UNESCO World Heritage websites (together with the capital Bordeaux’s historic centre and the stone age cave work of Lascaux), the Atlantic Pyrénées and 720km of shoreline, this area has loads to draw these wishing to settle in France.
● Nouvelle-Aquitaine has a superb transport infrastructure and enviable strategic place inside the European Union. Starting from the Atlantic coast to the Spanish border, Nouvelle-Aquitaine enjoys simple accessibility to European markets, and the colourful metropolis of Bordeaux is simply 2 hours from Paris by high-speed practice.
● The area’s trendy and increasing transport infrastructure consists of seven worldwide airports, an intensive rail community, 4 industrial ports, navigable rivers and multimodal freight hubs.
● At 84,000 km², Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the biggest French area, and additionally it is its Third-largest financial energy with a GDP of 158 billion euros.
● Like many areas in France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine has an especially various financial and industrial panorama, with alternatives abounding in industries as various as pharmaceutical analysis to industrial ceramics. Nouvelle-Aquitaine is taken into account a pacesetter in e-health, silver financial system, aeronautics, meals business, tourism, eco-technology, supplies and laser expertise.
● Bordeaux is a thriving metropolis and the seventh-largest metropolitan space of France. The world is especially pleasant to startups, and is named the “French Tech Metropolis”. (See our put up Methods to begin a cleantech startup in France.)
● Nouvelle-Aquitaine can also be a number one area for R&D expenditure and is dwelling to 10 10 competitiveness clusters together with Aerospace Valley, ID4Car, de la Céramique, Alpha Route des Lasers and Xylofutur.
● With extra inexpensive actual property, establishing a enterprise on this area is usually comparatively cheaper than different areas of France, with common prices 20-30% decrease than Paris.
● One of many greatest benefits of Nouvelle-Aquitaine is that it’s a main agricultural area, with numerous natural farms and a dynamic and various agri-food business. Viticulture and alcohol manufacturing can also be a staple right here, with vineyards and distilleries in Bordeaux and Cognac bottling a few of the most famed wines and spirits on the planet.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
When individuals think about a quintessential picture of the South of France, it’s the sunny resorts, lavender fields and mellow stone structure of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur that’s more likely to spring to thoughts. Historically often called a playground of the wealthy and well-known, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is dwelling to the French Riviera, as effectively picturesque villages, excellent gastronomy, and a painterly custom that includes artists similar to Van Gogh, Chagall, and Paul Cézanne.
With a panorama that encompasses the whole lot from olive groves to Alpine canyons, a famously laid-back ambiance and a heat local weather, this space is especially well-liked with guests and expats alike.
● Bordering Italy, the Principality of Monaco and the Mediterranean Sea, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur has wonderful hyperlinks to southern Europe.
● The area’s capital, the coastal metropolis of Marseille, is the second solely to Paris by way of measurement and the third most populated metropolis in France.
● Marseille is a coastal metropolis and gateway to different areas throughout the Mediterranean, in addition to North Africa and the Center East, making this a superb base for commerce and logistics.
● Fos-sur-Mer, which is simply to the west of Marseille, is a significant industrial zone that counts crude oil as a significant import and steelmaking and petrochemical manufacture as key industries.
● There are distinctive transport hyperlinks throughout this area, with worldwide airports in Marseille and Good, and a complete rail system that connects cities similar to Cannes and Monaco and stretches into Italy.
● The French Riviera is taken into account to be the European Silicon Valley, with Good having fun with a robust startup and enterprise ecosystem, particularly within the Info & Communication Applied sciences (ICT) sector. Among the world’s greatest corporations, together with IBM, are represented right here. (Good can also be featured in our put up One of the best cities for tech startups in France.)
● A 2,400-hectare expertise park, Sophia Antipolis, is the primary technopole in Europe and homes 2,500 corporations, that are value 5.6 billion euros and make use of greater than 38,000 individuals from greater than 80 nationalities.
● Marseille is a superb location for companies within the FMCG and automotive industries, in addition to the maritime sector.
● Town of Cannes, though small, has a global status by way of the annual cultural occasion of the Cannes Movie Competition, whereas Grasse is the fragrance capital of the world. This area additionally had an ideal inventive custom which could be useful to anybody beginning a enterprise within the arts and artwork promoting, with well-known names similar to Vincent Van Gogh having lived in and painted throughout the world.
● One other port metropolis on the Mediterranean coast, Toulon has an intensive navy harbour and is a French naval base.
● Unusually for France, agriculture has much less significance on this area, and 90% of the inhabitants reside in city areas. Regardless of this, the specialised manufacturing of fruits, greens, flowers and wines nonetheless type a necessary a part of the financial system and panorama.
● The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is the second most visited space of France after Paris, and tourism is a driving drive behind its dynamic financial system. With over 31 million guests a yr and enduring recognition springing from its worldwide status as a ravishing, sunny vacation spot filled with historical past and heritage, alternatives abound for anybody wishing to enter the tourism business right here. (See our put up Methods to begin a vacation cottage or gite enterprise in France.)
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Located within the southeast of France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is a markedly dynamic area, accounting for 11.9% of French financial output and having fun with a GDP equal to that of the nation of Finland. The placement of the internationally famend snowboarding vacation spot of Chamonix and one in every of France’s most essential cities, Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is bordered by 5 different administrative areas and two different European nations.
● One other well-loved vacationer area, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is well-liked with ski-enthusiasts, mountaineers, foodies and historical past buffs. Within the east, the French Alps present world-class winter sports activities and summer season climbing alternatives, whereas the central Rhone Valley has a wealthy architectural heritage. Auvergne, to the west, is a rural space dotted with charming villages and benefiting from a putting volcanic panorama.
● Chamonix–Mont-Blanc is maybe essentially the most well-known mountain within the Alps and the best level in Europe, and attracts guests from all around the world. The encircling financial system is pushed by tourism and the winter sports activities business.
● Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is bordered by Italy and Switzerland, making the world strategically positioned on fundamental French and European transport routes. This has created an environment of openness with worldwide markets, making the area the second-most essential for imports and exports, in addition to contributing to the creation of 4,400 institutions with international capital.
● The Rhone Valley is the second-largest wine-growing area in France, producing a few of the world’s most well-known wines. Alongside the principle enterprise of creating and promoting wines, growers right here have pioneered one other department of the French vacationer business with 14 “wine routes” for individuals to discover.
● The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes capital, Lyon, is on the intersection of main European visitors routes and in simple attain of a lot of Europe’s nice cities by way of air and practice journey.
● The creation of competitiveness clusters in Lyon has fostered a superb centre for analysis and innovation, an lively scientific group and world-beating experience in life science, clear power and the digital sector.
● Manufacturing is a key facet of the enterprise panorama on this area, offering employment for half 1,000,000 individuals. With each high-tech and conventional industries represented right here, together with biotechnology, digital, mechanical engineering and textiles, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has a wholesome and various manufacturing base.
No matter enterprise you’re in, the South of France has one thing for many entrepreneurs. In the event you want additional data on how you can arrange your small business in France, you may obtain the free information beneath which supplies you all the small print on firm formation, tax and accounting, how you can open a enterprise checking account and register an deal with. Or you may check out our video information to beginning a enterprise in France.
