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What role does Lyon play on European and international Levels?
A medium-sized city like Lyon ca, have a reach that is much longer than the size of its population would indicate. There are multiple factors involved. From my national and international experience, I can say that Lyon easily compares to European cities like Turin, Milan, Stuttgart, Amsterdam and Birmingham. I have been trying to make Lyon better known and to have its potential and its capacities recognized internationally. In this respect, the G-7 meeting [in 1996] helped us a great deal. The 2,000 journalists who were there discovered Lyon. And since then there has been an ongoing series of international meetings, many of them organized by foreigners who choose the city of Lyon. UNCTAD [the UN Conference on Trade and Development], to give on example among many, has decided to hold its summit meeting in Lyon at the end of this year.
What is the situation in Lyon’s commercial property market?
Lyon did not have a “bubble” in the real estate sector that had to be reabsorbed with difficulty. There were; of course, repercussions from the real estate crisis that occurred in every country and in many cities. Now the market has found its balance, and we are seeing new demand for real estate. The Lyon market is attractive for both offices and residences. It’s a positive element of the current overall economic situation of the Lyon region.
Why should companies consider Lyon as a European base?
Investors should come to Lyon only if it is to their advantage. If they come to Lyon they will see that it has a pleasant setting in terms of the quality of life; an impressive educational system; numerous companies that are creating a climate that is favorable to economic activity; research centers that look toward the future. Above all, they will find themselves in a geostrategic position. Since the time of the Romans, Lyon has been at the heart of Europe.
Companies are welcomed to Lyon by specialized agencies that have been set up to encourage foreign investment. I don’t believe in investments that are based on financial and tax advantages. An investment decision is for the long-term and should be based on a global analysis of the current and future situation. I think that this diagnosis is favorable to Lyon, as is shown by the number of companies that are making investments in Lyon.
What advantages does Lyon have in comparison with other French cities?
I don’t want to enter into competition with other French cities. Foreign investment is important for France, and it is up to foreign investors to decide where they want to be. The list of investments made in 1997 and 1998 shows that many were made by companies already established in Lyon that are expanding their activity. SMI, for example, which belongs to the Japanese group Koyo Seiko, is increasing its investment in Lyon and plans to open a research center there that will cover all of France. Companies that invest in Lyon are increasingly discovering that they have an advantage in their proximity to northern Italy and Switzerland, but especially that they can operate in Southern Europe, where there is enormous potential.
What is very striking about investments in the Lyon region is that they are medium-sized investments that are directed toward long-term growth. That corresponds to the structure of the region, where there are many medium-sized enterprises that are in the process of becoming large enterprises. This is highly characteristic of the Lyon region. And we have noted that medium-large enterprises are growing and that foreign investors are interested in buying many medium-sized enterprises. The foreign investments – American, German, Swiss, Japanese – that have already been made are large investments made in a perspective of growth.
How would you like to see Lyon develop, and what is necessary to achieve this development?
Lyon has great potential. At the moment, I am stressing two essential directions. First, to make Lyon “the city of intelligence”. We have outstanding universities, scientific grandes écoles and research centers. What I would like to see is the development of synergies between all these institutions. I think this is essential for the city. We want to make Lyon a center for health that starts with the research centers and ends in industry.
The second orientation is to make Lyon part of a network, to take it out of a purely unilateral position and develop links, on the one hand, with Turin and Geneva, and, on the other hand, with the centers of the Rhône-Alpes region, especially Saint-Etienne and Grenoble. And, finally, we would like to push toward the south through a partnership agreement with Marseilles.
The strategic position of Lyon allows it to be at the heart of a network of cities that covers the whole of the region. We also have excellent relations with Barcelona. We are setting up partnerships in all sectors: economic, financial and cultural. And we are trying to realize economies of scale. Instead of each city having its independent policies, we are trying to work together, to find common goals, and to play a role in a significant, important economic area with strong potential. Italy, Southern France and Spain now have greater growth capacity than areas in the center of Europe, which are already highly developed. We are making plans to bring Lyon into the 21st century.