Invest and Trade in Occitanie

A strategic location, at the heart of Southern Europe, a springboard to reach the Mediterranean markets

A strategic location at the heart of the Mediterranean arc, in border with Spain, bordering the PACA region, Auvergne Rhône-Alpes and Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region.

  • 2nd largest region of France, larger than Ireland, twice the size of Catalonia
  • 72 724 km², 13 departments
  • 1st French region of mainland France for population growth
  • 5.8 million inhabitants, among the top 5 in France for population density
  • 2.2 million jobs
  • 1st French region for its rate of business creation. GDP in the top 20 at European level (152 billion), strongest GDP growth in France
  • Foreign investment: 3rd French region hosting projects in 2017; 5th French region in terms of jobs
  • 3rd student area in France, nearly 230.000 students
  • 1st French region for R&D expenditure (5.6 billion/year), 29.400 research workers
  • 4th tourist area in France, with 30 million tourists per year

Invest in occitanie map - Set up in France

Multimodal and efficient transport facilities

  • 9 airports including 3 international airports (Toulouse, Tarbes, Montpellier)
  • 8 highways
  • 2 rolling motorways: from Luxemburg to Le Boulou and since 2005 from Port de Sète to Paris
  • 2 high-speed rail lines: Montpellier-Paris (3h30), Perpignan-Figueras
  • 3 maritime trade ports, 5 fishing ports, 3 river ports, the Rhône canal in Sète and the Canal du Midi
  • 1 « dry port », the domestic terminal of Barcelona’s port authorities
  • 4 multimodal platforms

Territory map invest in occitanie

Leading sectors in the region

Aeronautics and space

  • World leader in civil aeronautics
  • 86.000 direct jobs in aeronautics and space
  • Presence of 3 European aircraft manufacturers: Airbus (world headquarters), ATR, Daher
  • Leading European region for space and space applications
  • 25% of the European workforce in space industry

Digital, electronics and embedded systems

  • 4th region in France for ICT: 62.500 jobs in 18.500 companies
  • 2 digital business cluster: FrenchSouthDigital and Digital Place
  • 2 certifications « Métropoles French Tech » (Toulouse and Montpellier)
  • 1 cluster on robotics: RoboticsPlace

Agriculture and Food Industry

  • Largest wine-growing area in the world for wines with a controlled denomination of origin
  • Leading organic region in France (largest organic-farmed area)
  • 2nd French region for meat production
  • 3rd region for fruit and vegetable production
  • 3rd agri-food region with 7.000 farming settlements
  • Leading region for products under label of quality and origin

Health - Biotechs

  • Over 240.000 jobs in the health sector, including 24.000 in the health industry
  • 3 University Hospital Centers: Toulouse, Montpellier, Nimes
  • Oncopole Toulouse: unique site in Europe fully dedicated to cancer fight
  • Strong position on key segments: diagnosis, medical devices, ageing,

Eco-activities (water, waste, eco-materials)

  • 22.500 jobs, 2.150 companies

Renewable energies

  • 2nd French region for the production of renewable energies
  • 2nd region in photovoltaic production, 2nd in hydroelectric
  • 3rd in wind and 5th in biomass production
  • 1st region in the development potential of offshore floating wind power

Intelligent transport systems

  • 2 clusters: Mipyrail Innovation and Automotech cluster
  • 7.000 jobs in the rail sector
  • Over 11.000 industrial jobs in the automotive sector
  • 37.000 service jobs in the automotive sector

Logistics and transport

  • Almost 61.000 jobs in more than 6.300 businesses

Tourism - Nautism - Thermal Spa

  • 4th most popular French region for tourism
  • 4th region for tourism-related jobs: 108.000
  • 1st thermal area for the number of establishments: 166.000 visitors
  • €14 billion income from tourism
  • 6,600 jobs in the nautical industry
  • Leading region for the manufacture of cruising catamarans

Firms logos Invest in Occitanie      Invest in Occitanie Clusters

Our activities

  • Attract national and international investment throughout the Occitanie region
  • Facilitate the establishment and development of companies in the region
  • Promote the region and its economic assets

Our services to Investors

  • Unique interface for your project
  • Customized land and real estate research
  • Industry expertise
  • Strategic, legal and accounting advice
  • Linking with a network of regional skills and economic actors in your sector
  • Simplification of procedures
  • Recruitment assistance and customized training
  • Help with the professional and residential mobility of employees
  • Financial engineering and support to mobilize regional, national or European aid

Invest in Occitanie package for investors

A concentration of brainpower

Higher education

  • 35 prestigious Higher Education Institutions
  • 2 federal universities in Toulouse and Montpellier
    as well as universities spread across the territory
  • Two of the oldest French universities
  • 3rd student area in France – nearly 230.000 students
  • Toulouse Business School and Montpellier Business School
    in the top 10 business schools
  • Presence of Toulouse veterinary school (only 4 such establishments in France)

R&D and technology transfer

  • 35 prestigious Higher Education Institutions
  • 2 federal universities in Toulouse and Montpellier
    as well as universities spread across the territory
  • Two of the oldest French universities
  • 3rd student area in France – nearly 230.000 students
  • Toulouse Business School and Montpellier Business School
    in the top 10 business schools
  • Presence of Toulouse veterinary school (only 4 such establishments in France)

A great place to live, study and work

  • Toulouse and Montpellier in the top 4 of the most popular French cities to work and to study
  • Toulouse in the top 50 of the most popular university cities in the world
  • Over 290.000 foreign residents
  • 34 consulates or consular offices
  • International educational institutions from primary to university level

Local opportunities

  • Commercial Real Estate Read more
  • Business ecosystem Read more
  • Legal & tax services Read more
  • Public funding & incentives Read more
  • Setting up facilitation Read more



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