Rhone-Alps, the place to be !

The attractiveness of the RA region essentially relies on our talents. Our studios and schools have formed talents who are very sought after internationally, and who produce high quality contents which cannot be seen elsewhere. Being the birthplace of Cinema with the Lumière Brothers, and where the video game publisher Infogrames(Atari) was funded, Lyon has a strong historical background in images production.
Animation, Cinema, 2D, 3D, video gaming, multimedia, all types of images productions have long been represented in the region, and have converged today to produce on new platforms and develop new uses of contents.

The Rhône-Alpes region, as well as the cities of Lyon, Annecy and Valence have always been very supportive of the industry and have led to the creation of a competitive cluster IMAGINOVE, as well as dedicated equipments (Pôle Pixel, CITIA, la Cartoucherie..) and international events such as the MIFA in Annecy, the Cartoon Movie or the Serious Game expo in Lyon. An international company setting up in the region will thus find the talents, the eco-system and the support needed to develop its business in France or Europe. It will also benefit from an ideal geographical location in Europe and effective cost & quality of life ratio, 2h away from all the major European capitals.

Do the french companies now installed in region play a role of attractiveness for foreign companies wishing to locate in France?

The Rhône Alpes region gathers around 700 companies in the image & multimedia industry, which makes it the second region in France for development and production of content.
The whole industry key-chain is represented, from middleware & services to publishing. But what makes the region's driving force is also the presence of different sector of excellences, such as neurosciences, medical imaging, nanotechs, ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems), Smart Grids, robotics…, and whose technology converge today with the industry of contents
The region also count 23 research labs related to imaging, with renowned structures such as the INRIA or the LIRIS. They strongly collaborate with our schools and companies, mainly on subsidized R&D projects, thanks to the Imaginove cluster.
As an example, the INRIA, a video game and an animation company are today collaborating on a 2,5M€ R&D project (of which 1,3M€ are subsidies) aiming to develop the simulation of a physical engine to automatically generate content.

In 5 years, Imaginove has allowed 94 R&D projects to be financed for 147M€ in total and the Rhône Alpes region ranked 6th most innovative city in the world.
The region's eco-system as a whole is thus very attractive for a foreign company who would consider setting up France or Europe. Although we today face international competition, the historical know-how and working-together spirit we benefit from represent a real driving force and growth potential for companies who aim to produce original & high quality contents.

berliet@aderly.com