Four Motors for Europe
Presentation of the
Rhône-Alpes Region
Foz de Iguaçu, 29th of January 2010
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France’s 2nd largest
region in France
Rhône-Alpes is one of the
European Union’s leading regions :
- surface area : 44 000 km²
- population : 7 million inhabitants
- 1/3 citizens is under 25
- GPD : 182 billion euros
- second largest national region in
terms of research
- the most extensive skiing area in
the world
- urban, gastronomic & cultural
heritage
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Towns and Heritage
Lyon, with about 1.4 million inhabitants,
is the Regional capital. It is listed as a
UNESCO World Heritage City.
The region has two other cities with more
than 300,000 inhabitants: Grenoble and
Saint Etienne.
At the crossroads of Europe’s
main communication routes
• International Airport;
• rail links based on regional express
transport and high speed train (TGV)
• a dense network of expressways specially
linked to the Swiss and Italian networks.
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Lyon
120000
Saint Etienne
20000
Annecy
Chambéry
12000
Grenoble
60000
Rhône-Alpes :
a major center of
higher education
and R&D
- 233,000 students;
- 8 universities with centers in Lyon,
Grenoble, Saint Etienne and Chambéry /
Annecy.
More than 40 ‘grandes écoles’ (institutions
of higher education specialized in
engineering, business, etc.);
- All disciplines are taught
Rhône-Alpes research at a glance
- 30 000 researchers in R&D (public and private)
-600 laboratories, 10 public national research
agencies
- major international laboratories
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A sound industrial base
and a rich tertiary sector
- Almost 25 % of regional added value derives
from the industrial sector,
- Leader in French Metal industry, mechanical
construction, chemical industry and plastic
transformation
Rhône-Alpes, is a leading region
for high technologies sector
- A leader in several growth areas, such as digital
technology, health, materials, environmental
protection and energy.
- Rhône-Alpes is involved in 15 economic
clusters. 4 of them are worldwide in scope :
Biopôle, Minatec, Axelera, Enerdis
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The French administrative entities
1 State
22 Regions
11 « Départements »
36 000 « Communes »
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The French administrative entities
The national State
Garantees national soverignty and assumes public service mission :
justice, defense, public order, laws, education, national economy,
social protection, organisation & equipment of the territory
Local authorities
The Region
High school, transport, professionnal training, economic & territorial
development
The « Département » (county)
Social & sanitary actions, junior high school, highways network
The « Commune » (municipality)
Primary & nursery school, local services, urban planning
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Rhône-Alpes :
a political and administrative entity
Budget : 2,32 billion
euros
President Jean-Jack
Queyranne
Regional Council :
21 Vice Presidents
157 regional
counsellors
7 political groups
Regional Social &
Economic Council
116 counsellors
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Rhône-Alpes : Open to the World
In Europe :
- Founder Members of the « Four Motors for Europe »
-Cross-border relations with italian and swiss regions
- Sustainable relationship with Malopolska (Poland) and
Southtransdanubia (Hungary)
- Member of a numerous European instituions and associations
The European Union
- Rhône-Alpes benefits from about 870 millions euros for the
regional competitiveness and employment objective of the
European regional policy
- Rhône-Alpes maintains contact with the European institutions
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Thank you for
your attention
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