BUSINESS ENTREPRISE

SPECIAL REPORT

DOSSIER

Seine-Saint-Denis:
rich with opportunity
Seine-Saint-Denis, un territoire dopportunits
After the industrial decline experienced here in the mid-20th century, Seine-Saint-Denis has fought back with inexhaustible energy and great ingenuity to recover and get back on the road to prosperity. With annual growth of 8% today, that determination has certainly paid off. Suite la dsindustrialisation qua connue la Seine-Saint-Denis au milieu du XXe sicle, le dpartement a dvelopp une nergie dbordante, double de beaucoup dingniosit, pour rebondir et retrouver le chemin de la prosprit. Cest chose faite aujourdhui, avec 8 % de croissance annuelle.
Article written by/Dossier ralis par Laurence de Beaufort
Michel Derouault

Les grands moulins de Pantin

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SEINE-SAINT-DENIS KEY DATA/FICHE SIGNALTIQUE

AREA
236 km2 with 40 municipalities.

TERRITOIRE
236 km, 40 municipalits.

POPULATION
1.4 million.

POPULATION
1,4 million dhabitants.

ECONOMY
520,000 salaried employees and 43,000 companies.

CONOMIE
520 000 emplois salaris, 43 000 entreprises.

TRANSPORT LINKS
2 international airports - Paris-CDG, Europes leading cargo and postal hub and Paris Le Bourget 1 RER-TGV rail interchange station, 5 freeways, 11 metro and RER (Regional Rail) lines, 2 tramway lines, 100 bus routes and the Prologis logistics center.

DESSERTE
Deux aroports internationaux : Paris-CDG, 1er hub europen fret et poste et Paris Le Bourget, 1 gare dinterconnexion RER-TGV, 5 autoroutes, 11 lignes de mtro et RER, 2 lignes de tramway, 100 lignes de bus, une plateforme logistique Prologis.

EDUCATION
The second-largest concentration of university-level institutions in the Paris Region, with 2 universities, 3 engineering institutes and 60,000 students.

ENSEIGNEMENT
2e ple universitaire dle-de-France avec 2 universits et 3 coles dingnieurs, 60 000 tudiants.

REAL ESTATE AND LAND

The Number 1 Paris Region dpartement in terms of inward investment, and Number 3 in terms of investment in office space. 3.5 million m of development land at prices below the regional average.

IMMOBILIER ET FONCIER
1er dpartement francilien en investissements activits, 3e en investissements bureaux. 3,5 millions de m de rserve foncire des prix plus intressants que la moyenne rgionale.

CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION FACILITIES

2 international exhibition centers (Paris Nord Villepinte and Le Bourget), soon to be joined by a hotel and convention center at Saint-Denis.

CONGRS ET EXPOSITIONS
2 parcs dexposition internationaux (Paris Nord Villepinte et Le Bourget), bientt un centre htelier et de conventions (Saint-Denis).

ENVIRONMENT
1,400 hectares of parkland and open spaces, 4 waterways (the Seine, the Marne, the Canal de lOurcq and the Saint-Denis-Aubervilliers canal) and 30 kilometers of canalside paths.
Rgion IDF / Marcel Vergnolle

ENVIRONNEMENT
1 400 ha de parcs et despaces verts, 4 voies deau (Seine, Marne, Canal de lOurcq et canal de Saint-Denis Aubervilliers), 30 km de promenade le long des canaux.
Sevran Canal de lOurcq Saint-Ouen

CRT Paris IIDF / J.C. Pinheira

Bobigny

Basilique de Saint-Denis

Michel Derouault

Michel Derouault

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DOSSIER

THE SCARS OF OUR INDUSTRIAL PAST HAVE BECOME TODAYS ADVANTAGES LES CICATRICES DE LA PREMIRE INDUSTRIALISATION SONT DEVENUES AUTANT DATOUTS

A quick look at a map of the Paris Region and you can see it straight away: Seine-Saint-Denis stretches precisely from the City of Paris to the airports of Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Le Bourget. With the French capital on one side, and Europes second-largest airport and leading business hub on the other this is a perfect location for serving a globalized world. The scars of our industrial past have become todays advantages , explains Francis Dubrac, Chairman of the Comit dExpansion Economique de la SeineSaint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis Economic Development Committee). The fact is that 93, as it is known locally (the nickname comes from the official dpartement number), has inherited a dense public transport network, with several metro lines and the RER line between Paris and Paris-CDG airport. The freeway infrastructure was also in place at a very early stage. Less familiar perhaps are the old watercourses of the Canal de lOurcq and the Saint-Denis-Aubervilliers canal, which are now attracting developers keen to maximize the environmental attraction of their new schemes. The old space-hungry industries have left huge areas of development land behind them. Which is another advantage , continues Francis Dubrac. People dont need to build tower blocks here, and prefer 4- or 5-storey office buildings close to green open spaces (14 m per occupant) on land that is still very reasonably priced given its proximity to Paris. And compa-

nies havent been slow to pick up on that! Recent examples include the BNP Paribas bank, which has created 55,000 m of office space in the historic former Moulins de Paris building at Pantin, and the travel company Nouvelles Frontires, which has moved its head office to Montreuil, right opposite the metro station. Advantages like this are what makes Seine-Saint-Denis the Number 3 dpartement in the Paris Region in terms of office space investment (1 billion in 2006). And there are still 3.5 million m of real estate available for construction or renovation! A productive relationship Seine-Saint-Denis may be very successful today, but it owes much of that success to a few pioneers who began the impetus 10 or 20 years ago, as well as the major names who never left. This comfortable relationship is one of the things that give this area its originality. Take the cosmetics and luxury goods sector, for example. Bourgeois-Chanel has been based in Pantin since the 19 th century, when its plant produced soap using oils extracted at the old Paris abattoirs nearby. Herms arrived in the 1980s, and has expanded here into 33,000 m of leather workshops and a luxury showroom. Further north, LOral has located its research and logistics centers, at Aulnay-sous-Bois. With major airports so close by, the aeronautics industry is also well established here: Eurocopter (EADS) has located its test center and rotor blade production center at La Courneuve, and Dassault Falcon

Le Bourget

Noisy-le-Grand (mont dest)

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Michel Derouault

COMEX 93

Services is based at Le Bourget. In their wake have followed smaller hi-tech companies, like Certia, which provides test facilities for long-haul airliners in the south of the dpartement, and Ulmer, which manufactures Air Force oxygen masks and airport marking equipment at its heart. The situation is even more striking in the movie and visual imagery industries. At one extreme, the Eclair studios are celebrating their 100th anniversary, whilst at the other, the young Ubisoft at Montreuil is exporting its video games to the world. Following the arrival of the first TV studios in La Plaine-Saint-Denis in the 1980s, the dpartement is now home to 2,000 companies and 23,000 jobs in the new generation of digital imagery creators. Luc Bessons Cit europenne du Cinma (European Film Center) will also open here soon. Relocation passport Theres no denying that Seine-Saint-Denis has done everything it can to facilitate economic development. The problems of the past have made us ingenious , explains Francis Dubrac. Our intention has always been to work through the Comit dExpansion Economique to make things easier for entrepreneurs wanting to come here. To achieve that, weve set up formal and informal networks involving everyone, from local authorities to private companies, associations and public services. This way, we can guarantee a rapid response every time, whether its a matter of obtaining building permits or work permits, making contact with the French government or even iden-

ZAC (Urban Development Zone) Jean Rostand

tifying living accommodation or service providers. Naturally, this kind of support is available before companies arrive, but it also continues once theyre here.
Special attention is paid to recruitment. Here again, the approach is a practical one that encourages contact between employers and job seekers looking for training opportunities or employment. The dpartement has a large and wellqualified workforce , emphasizes Francis Dubrac. We have the regions secondlargest concentration of university-level educational opportunities, with two universities and eight higher educational institutions. Well also be opening an international high school at Noisy-le-Grand in 2009, in partnership with the neighboring dpartement of Val-de-Marne.

But maybe its quite another talent that could tip the balance in favor of a foreign entrepreneur locating his first European company here. To his great surprise, hell find a very different opportunity here in Seine-Saint-Denis: 130 different languages and dialects are spoken here every day, which could be a vital factor for an essentially-international company.

La Courneuve

Saint-Ouen (LOral)

Michel Derouault

Pascal Grevobal

PA R I S R E G I O N M A G A Z I N E

Michel Derouault

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SPECIAL REPORT

DOSSIER

Muse de lAir et de lEspace, Le Bourget

CDT de Seine-Saint-Denis / Guillaume Beguin

Il suffit de regarder une carte de la rgion parisienne pour comprendre : la Seine-Saint-Denis stend prcisment entre la ville de Paris et les aroports de Paris-Charles de Gaulle et du Bourget. Dun ct, la capitale franaise, et de lautre, rien moins que le deuxime plus grand aroport dEurope, ainsi que le premier aroport europen daffaires Une situation parfaite lchelle de la mondialisation. Les cicatrices de la premire industrialisation sont devenues autant datouts , explique Francis Dubrac, prsident du Comit dExpansion Economique de la Seine-Saint-Denis. Ainsi, le territoire du 93 bnficie depuis longtemps dun solide rseau de transports en commun, avec plusieurs lignes de mtro et la ligne de RER qui relie Paris laroport Paris-CDG. De mme, les infrastructures autoroutires ont t trs tt amnages. Moins connues, les anciennes voies deau que sont le canal de lOurcq et le canal de SaintDenis Aubervilliers font aujourdhui le bonheur des amnageurs, soucieux dintgrer la qualit environnementale leurs prestations. Les anciennes activits, trs consommatrices despaces, ont laiss place de grandes friches. Encore un avantage, rpond Francis Dubrac. Ici, on ne construit pas de tours, mais plutt des btiments de bureaux de quatre ou cinq tages, proximit despaces verts (14 m par habitant), sur des terrains des prix encore trs raisonnables compte tenu de la proximit de Paris. Et les entreprises ne sy trompent pas ! A titre dexemples, la banque BNP Paribas amnage pour ses services 55 000 m de bureaux Pantin, dans le btiment historique des anciens Moulins de Paris ; le voyagiste Nouvelles Frontires a install son sige Montreuil, devant la station de mtro La Seine-Saint-Denis se classe ainsi troisime dpartement de la rgion parisienne en termes dinvestissements de bureaux (1 milliard deuros en 2006). Et il reste encore 3,5 millions de m despace foncier disponible la construction ou la rnovation ! Une cohabitation fructueuse Si ce territoire connat aujourdhui autant de succs, il le doit tout autant aux quelques pionniers qui ont lanc le mouvement

voil dix ou vingt ans, qu de grandes enseignes qui ne sont jamais parties. Toute loriginalit vient de cette cohabitation. Ainsi dans le secteur des cosmtiques et du luxe, Bourgeois-Chanel est implant Pantin depuis le XIXe sicle : lusine produisait lorigine des savons, base dhuile extraite aux anciens abattoirs parisiens tout proches. Herms ly a rejoint dans les annes 1980, et sy dveloppe avec un projet de 33 000 m dateliers de travail du cuir et de show room. Plus au nord, LOral a amnag son centre de recherches ainsi que son centre logistique Aulnay-sous-Bois. Aroport oblige, laronautique est aussi une activit ancienne : Eurocopter (EADS) a implant son centre dessais et son unit de production de pales La Courneuve, Dassault Falcon Services est install au Bourget. Dans leur sillage, de petites entreprises de pointe se sont implantes, telles que Certia (bancs dessai pour les avions gros porteurs) ou Ulmer (masques oxygne pour larme de lAir, matriel de balisage des aroports), respectivement au sud et au cur du dpartement. Le constat est encore plus frappant dans le secteur du cinma et de limage. Dun ct, les studios Eclair ftent leur centime anniversaire ; de lautre, la jeune socit Ubisoft, ne Montreuil exporte ses jeux vido partout dans le monde. Aprs larrive des premiers plateaux de tlvision, dans les annes 1980, la Plaine-SaintDenis, cest toute la nouvelle gnration du numrique qui sest dploye dans le dpartement, comptant 2 000 entreprises et 23 000 emplois Et bientt, Luc Besson va ouvrir la Cit Europenne du Cinma. Passeport pour linstallation Il faut dire que la Seine-Saint-Denis a tout fait pour faciliter ce dveloppement. Les difficults passes nous ont rendus ingnieux, explique Francis Dubrac. Au travers du Comit dExpansion Economique, nous avons voulu faciliter les dmarches des entrepreneurs qui souhaitaient sinstaller. Pour cela, nous avons cr des rseaux, formels ou informels entre tous les acteurs : collectivits, entreprises prives, associations, services publics

New Convention Center coming soon Bientt un nouveau Centre de congrs

A huge business complex at the gateway to Paris in Saint-Denis will feature a 5,000 m convention hall, a 1,250-room 3-star hotel, restaurants and shops. The new complex will bolster the dpartements existing convention and exhibition industry, which already has 268,000 m2 of exhibition space at Paris-Nord Villepinte and Le Bourget. Aux portes de Paris, Saint-Denis, un grand complexe daffaires regroupera une salle de conventions de 5 000 m, un htel 3* de 1 250 chambres, des restaurants et boutiques. Cet ensemble viendra renforcer lactivit congrs-expositions du dpartement (268 000 m2 de surfaces dexposition Paris-Nord Villepinte et Le Bourget).

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Nous garantissons ainsi une rapidit de raction, que ce soit pour lobtention de permis de construire, de permis de travail, les contacts avec ladministration franaise, ou mme dans la recherche de logements ou de prestataires de services. Cette aide intervient bien sr avant linstallation, mais elle se poursuit aprs.
Un effort tout particulier est apport laide au recrutement. L aussi, lapproche pragmatique prdomine : les contacts entre acteurs conomiques et candidats lemploi sont favoriss, que ce soit pour lapprentissage ou lembauche. Le dpartement compte une main duvre nombreuse et qualifie, insiste Francis Dubrac. Nous sommes le deuxime ple universitaire de la rgion

avec deux universits et huit tablissements denseignement suprieur. En partenariat avec le dpartement voisin du Val-de-Marne, nous allons galement ouvrir un lyce international Noisy-le-Grand, en 2009.
Mais cest une autre richesse qui va peuttre dcider un entrepreneur tranger venu rcemment en prospection, installer ici sa premire filiale europenne. A sa grande surprise, il a dcouvert en SeineSaint-Denis une vritable opportunit : 130 langues et dialectes y sont parls tous les jours, une rponse qui simpose ses besoins, la dimension internationale tant au cur de son activit

Immeuble Noisy-le-Grand

Biocitech business park

A BOOMING SCIENCE SECTOR UNE FILIRE SCIENTIFIQUE EN PLEIN ESSOR

Seine-Saint-Denis has made something of a specialty out of welcoming healthcare and life sciences companies. With research and development centers, pharmaceutical laboratories, biomedical companies and biotechnology businesses, over 200 such enterprises are now based in the dpartement, which is also home to the MEDICEN health initiative cluster. The aim of the cluster is to concentrate all the regions healthcare and high-tech medical technology to make the Paris Region Europes leading therapeutic innovation center. It is against this background that the Biocitech technology park has been developed at Romainville, offering 25,000 m of office space alongside scientific facilities and laboratories. On-site expertise is also available from specialists in a broad range of technologies, from chromatography to bio-computing. All the necessary support services are here too, with a strong emphasis on environmental and security issues. In 2004, Biocitech signed a partnership charter with Genopole to provide support for all its vaccine, biological testing and medication researchers and innovative entrepreneurs.

Rgion IDF/Kusick

La Seine-Saint-Denis dveloppe tout particulirement laccueil des entreprises de la sant et des sciences de la vie. Centres de recherche ou de dveloppement, laboratoires pharmaceutiques, entreprises de biomdical, biotechnologies plus de 200 entreprises du secteur sont aujourdhui implantes dans le dpartement, qui soutient par ailleurs le ple de comptitivit MEDICEN. Ce dernier a pour vocation de fdrer tous les acteurs de la rgion investis dans la sant et les hautes technologies pour le mdicament et la sant, afin de faire de lle-de-France le premier ple industriel europen dans le domaine de linnovation thrapeutique. Dans ce cadre, le parc technologique Biocitech a t amnag sur la commune de Romainville pour proposer 25 000 m de bureaux, associs des quipements et laboratoires scientifiques. Sur place, des experts en diverses technologies telles que chromatographie ou bio-informatique, proposent galement leurs savoir-faire. Tous les services associs lactivit sont disponibles, notamment en matire denvironnement et scurit. Biocitech a sign en 2004 une charte de partenariat avec Genopole, pour soutenir ensemble les chercheurs et les crateurs dentreprises innovant dans le domaine des vaccins, tests biologiques et mdicaments.

Michel Derouault

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ZAP INFO

INFO ZAPPING
Stade de France
Macary, Zublena et Regembaln Costantini - Architectes ADAGP

COMEX 93: THE GREAT FACILITATOR COMEX 93 : UN FACILITATEUR

The Comex 93 was established to promote all the benefits of the area, especially internationally. Its members include companies keen to promote the image of the dpartement, and those institutions and authorities involved in company location. This lightweight organization (it has only 10 permanent staff) can rely on a network of over 250 contacts, whose expertise makes life much easier for incoming companies by exploiting synergies and fast-tracking procedures. Le Comit dExpansion conomique de la Seine-Saint-Denis (ou Comex 93) est une association destine promouvoir les atouts de son territoire, notamment linternational. Elle regroupe des entreprises dsireuses de valoriser limage du dpartement, des acteurs institutionnels et administrations impliqus dans limplantation de socits. Cette structure lgre 10 collaborateurs permanents sappuie ainsi sur un rseau de plus de 250 correspondants comme autant de leviers pour faciliter les dmarches dinstallation des entreprises, en favorisant les synergies et en acclrant les procdures.
Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 98 10 00 - e-mail: comex93@comex93.org Web site: www.comex93.org.

The Stade de France effect Leffet Stade de France

The construction of the Stade de France at Saint-Denis for the 1998 World Cup marked the starting point for the redevelopment of the entire dpartement. Investments made in infrastructures (like the Regional express system station and freeway widening projects) boosted growth, as did the spinoff from construction work, which encouraged the involvement of local companies. Since then, the stadium has hosted the World Athletics Championships and Rugby World Cup, as well as concerts by the Rolling Stones and Madonna. La construction du Stade de France SaintDenis, loccasion du Mondial de football de 1998, a marqu le point de dpart du renouveau du dpartement. Les investissements en infrastructures - station de RER et doublement dautoroute - ont boost la croissance, tout comme les retombes conomiques des travaux, auxquelles les entreprises locales taient incites participer. Depuis, le Stade a accueilli les Championnats du monde dathltisme, la Coupe du monde de rugby, mais aussi les concerts des Rolling Stones ou de Madonna.

Acadmie Fratellini/ Ch. Raynaud de Lage

Acadmie Fratellini, la plaine-Saint-Denis

A CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC CENTER IN THE MAKING PAYS DE CULTURE ET DE MTIERS DART EN HERBE
Not content to have over 300 artists and craftsmen, Seine-Saint-Denis has encouraged the emergence of several centers in and around heritage sites, like the archaeological digs at Saint-Denis, and the reclamation of historic districts. It is against this background that the Socit dEncouragement aux Mtiers dArt has awarded its Ville et Mtiers dArt label to the district of Pantin in recognition of the support it has given to locating young artists and designers in the Les Quatre Chemins area (Porte de la Villette), Non contente de compter plus de 300 artisans dArt, la Seine-Saint-Denis voit natre quelques ples autour de sites ancestraux, comme les fouilles archologiques de Saint-Denis, mais galement loccasion de la reconqute de quartiers anciens. Ainsi au bnfice de lappui limplantation de jeunes crateurs aux Quatre Chemins (porte de la Villette), la Socit dEncouragement aux Mtiers dArt (SEMA - association nationale dutilit publique) a octroy son label Ville et Mtiers dArt la commune de Pantin.

Real estate performs strongly Limmobilier se porte bien

2 million m of land are under development this year. 3.5 million m is still available or convertible. 700,000 m of office space are planned for this year, and 200,000 m are already under construction. 2 millions de m de terrain sont en cours damnagement en 2007. 3,5 millions de m sont encore disponibles ou mutables. 700 000 m de bureaux sont en projet cette anne et 200 000 m en cours de construction.

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