Why Cergy-Pontoise Is a Good Business Location

Cergy-Pontoise is located north-west of Paris in the Val d’Oise department, within Île de France.

The agglomeration is the most recently created in Île de France, constituted by 13 communes and a territory that comprises more nearly 600 ha dedicated to economic activities.

The agglomeration is known to be highly industrialised, with already 9,500 established enterprises and the yearly creation of around 800 more. These companies are not only SMEs, but also big groups working in sectors like pharmacy, aeronautics, cosmetics, and automobile, among others. In addition, it’s foreign companies that create approximately 25 % of jobs in the area, thus enabling a strong international culture. The fact that, on average, companies in the area are still operating 3 years after their creation is also remarkable.

The advantages that the department presents to promote the creation of new companies are related to the presence of a research and engineering environment, propitious for companies dedicated to business intelligence, as well as the accessibility to the area, which allows to reach clients faster and more efficiently.

When taking a look at the education environment, the number of higher education institutions that can be found in the area (14 to be precise, with well over 30,000 students) provides thus a great promise for future competent workers. Moreover, due to the possibility of establishing agreements with the education centres, it’s possible to host the students and provide them with the relevant formation to fulfil the requirements of a company.

In addition, there are very different options to establish a company, ranging from the construction of a space tailored specifically to the needs of a big company to the domiciliation in a business centre for enterprises that don’t need to be physically located in an office. The offer is vast and answers to every possible request.

The Val d’Oise region has one of the biggest international airports in Europe, Roisy Charles de Gaulle, with a direct bus line to Cergy-Pontoise. If that wasn’t enough, Cergy-Pontoise itself has a business airport located right in the area, open to cargo traffic and business flights. In that regard, the area is very accessible by air. However, that’s not the only means; because of its location in the north-west, it is well connected to the ports of Rouen and Le Havre, two of the biggest in France. This means that shipping is also quite possible and fast.

Land transport is of no less importance, as the agglomeration has routes going directly to the English Channel, thus connecting with Great Britain, and others connecting to northern capitals like Brussels and Amsterdam. Concerning the access to Paris itself, there are several buses and five train lines (2 RER and 3 transilien) going to different districts in the city, and it’s also easily accessible by car.

With all these options, it’s not a surprise that companies favour this location as it’s a big opportunity to save on transportation costs, should they operate with merchandise.

The last thing to note is that most of the public institutions in charge of business registration in the Val d’Oise region are located in the Cergy-Pontoise agglomeration, so almost every administrative procedure to create your company can be done in the area.

CONCLUSION

If you would like to begin your business in a place that offers an innovative atmosphere within an international environment and good communication by all means of transport, you can create a business using the services of a domiciliation centre that will guide you in the creation of your French company. If on the other hand, you prefer to test the market, it’s also possible to get an address in the business centre to open a secondary establishment according to your needs.