Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is a region with a tradition of manufacturing: one employee in five works in manufacturing, and the region has 14,700 industrial plants.

Mechanical engineering and metalworking

Proven expertise in machining, mechanical engineering and boilermaking, inherited from the royal foundries and now oriented towards the industries of the future, offering investors state-of-the-art manufacturing solutions. The presence of groups such as Aerospace, Alstom, Vallourec, Aperam Stainless and General Electric bears witness to this high-quality ecosystem, especially for metal processing.

Car-making

The region is one of the leading car-making areas in France. With its historic site in Sochaux, PSA Peugeot Citroën has become the second largest car manufacturer in Europe.

Farming and agri-food

As a result of its farming (France’s second most important farming region for creation of value added; 63% of the regional area is eligible for quality certification), Bourgogne-Franche-Comté has established a major agri-food industry (dairy products, beef, wine, cereals, beverages and spirits).

Healthcare industries

Home to flagship pharmaceutical companies (Groupe Urgo, Vétoquinol, etc.) for over a century, with a web of SMEs often having a background in microtechnology and specializing in design of medical devices and subassemblies (Micro-Méga, Proteor, Statice, etc.), Bourgogne-Franche-Comté has historic ties with the healthcare field and a dense ecosystem to support research and innovation. Together with 12,160 people employed in R&D, 14 global research centers working closely with business and research laboratories, 11 technology platforms, a number of engineering schools and clusters, and three French Tech cities (Dijon, Besançon and Chalon-sur-Saône), the region boasts a number of innovation clusters, including Vitagora (healthy, tasty and sustainable food), Pôle Véhicule du Futur, Plastipolis (plastics) and Nuclear Valley.

A region with a wealth of remarkable natural, cultural and architectural heritage

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté has a number of UNESCO World Heritage sites (Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay; Vézelay, Church and Hill; the citadel of Besançon; Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin; the Climats, terroirs of Burgundy; the great saltworks of Salins-les-Bains and the royal saltworks of Arc-et-Senans).

It has top-level expertise in luxury products (clocks and watches, jewelry, eyewear and leather goods) and gastronomy (30 Michelin-starred restaurants, 153 products with registered designation of origin, the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin).

The region boasts internationally renowned fine wines, including 33 ‘grands crus’ (Aloxe-Corton, Chablis, Gevrey-Chambertin, Ladoix-Serrigny, Montrachet, Romanée-Conti, Vosne-Romanée, etc.).

The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, at the heart of major European infrastructures, has a long tradition of hospitality. From the Middle Ages onwards, in order to attract artists, musicians, graduates and talents, the Dukes of Burgundy deployed a splendor that combined iconic places, gastronomy and the art of living.

Today, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is a region with strong environmental and social qualities synonymous with well-being and good living, where talents and skills express themselves and flourish every day within innovative companies.
In each part of the region, nearly 7,000* new arrivals benefit from personalized reception facilities.

Local institutional players operate as a network in order to support the establishment and development of new activities and new populations. Companies, their employees and families find concrete answers to all their questions. The objective is to bring together all the conditions for a successful and sustainable installation.

* Source: immigration.interieur.gouv.fr/Immigration/L-admission-au-sejour-Les-titres-de-sejour-visas-statistiques

• The Prefecture of the Doubs
  Reception on meetings

For the Côte d’or, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne:

Territorial Directorate of the OFII – Cité Administrative Dampierre
6, rue du Chancelier de l’Hospital 21 000 Dijon

For the Doubs, the Jura, the Haute-Saône, the Territory of Belfort:
Territorial Directorate of OFII
3, Avenue de la Gare d’eau 25 000 Besançon

Training courses adapted to the needs of companies enable the training of 60,000 students and nearly 20,000 CAP engineering diploma apprentices. Three themes of excellence, 11 university sites, 10 engineering schools and two business schools.

Each year, the CLA welcomes nearly 4,000 trainees from five continents and teaches French as a foreign language and around ten other languages. The CLA is also a Centre for Teacher Training and University Research.

At the Dijon campus, Science Po offers a European specialization with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe.

For a weekend, a week or longer, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is a region on a human scale that brings together nature and culture and exercises the head, the taste buds and the legs.

Along a rushing river, on the shaded esplanade of a Roman basilica or on the urban quay sides of a bustling city; at the summit of a mountainous ridge, on a path through the woods, a wine cellar or a steep alley that leads towards an impregnable citadel; seated at the counter of a village bistro or at a table in a smart restaurant – Bourgogne-Franche-Comté offers many places, moments and emotions.

Outdoor activities all year long

The Grande Traversée du Jura, the Grande Traversée du Massif Central, the Eurovéloroute 6 pass through the heart of preserved natural sites, 1,350 km (840 miles) of iconic trails to be crossed on foot, by bike or on skis, by both amateur and experienced athletes. Every year, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté hosts the Nordic Combined World Cup, mountain biking events, as well as major equestrian and motorsport events. Thirty-one golf courses offer levels of varying difficulty for players of all handicaps.

Culture all year round

Burgundy-Franche-Comté had the privilege of creating the oldest French public collection in 1694, a century before the creation of museums that dates from the French Revolution and the opening of the Louvre in 1793.

• The Fine Arts Museums of Besançon and Dijon
• Courbet Museum in Ornans
• Niepce Museum in Chalon-sur-Saône
• The Peugeot Adventure Museum in Montbéliard
• Alésia Muséoparc in Alise-Sainte-Reine

Many festivals and cultural events are held throughout the year in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The Festival of Crime Movies in Beaune, Asian Cinemas in Vesoul, Musical Events in Vezelay, the International Competition for Young Conductors, Classical, Baroque and Jazz music are celebrated throughout the region.

The art of living and receiving

30 Michelin-starred restaurants, 168 products with designation of origin, 33 great vintages with illustrious names (Aloxe-Corton, Chablis, Gevrey-Chambertin, Ladoix-Serrigny, Montrachet, Romanée-Conti, Vosne-Romanée, etc.), the region has made quality its signature. Gastronomy and wine have their International City here.

A remarkable heritage

Châteaux, fortresses, vestiges, towns and villages, religious, civil, military and even industrial heritage, all bear witness to the history and life of our territories. Territories on which these remarkable sites have taken root for the benefit of a particular watercourse, promontory, geographical location, resources and natural assets. Then, supported, developed and protected by the men and women of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, this exceptional heritage has survived for centuries until the present day. Each of these sites is both a precious heritage and a signature of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

The eight Bourgogne-Franche-Comté properties listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List that have been inherited from the past and from a prodigious convergence of man and the land, constitute an exceptional cultural and natural heritage (i.e. almost 20% of French properties inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List). Religious, industrial, archaeological, wine-growing and architectural sites, so many sites to see, experience, discover, understand and admire in order to better preserve them and transmit them to future generations: Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay; Vézelay, Church and Hill; the citadel of Besançon; the Climats, terroirs of Burgundy; the great saltworks of Salins-les-Bains and the royal saltworks of Arc-et-Senans; Notre Dame du Haut le Corbusier in Ronchamps, the Notre dame de la Charité sur Loire priory.