Legalstart.fr, the leading online legal services platform for very small and small to medium-sized businesses (TPE and SME), unveils the results of a study* conducted across the entirety of France to determine the regions most active in terms of business creation.
Even though Paris and its region remain very attractive, business creation in the south of France continues to rise. These two regions are nearly equal! This phenomenon indicates that decentralization is perfectly accepted and desired by entrepreneurs. It’s a strong trend that will undoubtedly benefit the whole territory in the long run.
Aside from the Ile-de-France, which remains the monopoly with 41.20% of business creations, the South of France records more than 32.80% and thus stands out as particularly attractive for entrepreneurs—far ahead of the North, the West, and the East. On the other hand, the Centre region and the overseas territories account for very few company creations, with only 3.5% and 0.7%, respectively.
In the South, the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) regions attract the most entrepreneurs.
With the breakdown of business creation percentages by region, France is truly divided in two. The North and the South share the largest portion of creations. In the last positions arrive the Centre and the East, as well as the overseas territories (DOM COM), which still struggle to entice entrepreneurs.
Percentages of Business Creations
N°1 Ile-de-France 41.20%
N°2 Rhône-Alpes 10.60%
N°3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur 9.70%
N°4 Languedoc-Roussillon 4.60%
N°5 Nord-Pas-de-Calais 4.10%
N°6 Aquitaine 4.00%
N°7 Pays-de-Loire 3.20%
N°8 Midi-Pyrénées 3.10%
N°9 Brittany 2.70%
N°10 Centre 2.40%
N°11 Upper Normandy 1.80%
N°12 Poitou-Charentes 1.70%
N°13 Picardy 1.50%
N°14 Lower Normandy 1.30%
N°15 Burgundy 1.25%
N°16 Champagne-Ardenne 1.20%
N°17 Lorraine 1.10%
N°18 Alsace 1.00%
N°19 Franche-Comté 0.90%
N°20 Corsica 0.80%
N°21 Overseas territories (DOM COM) 0.70%
N°22 Auvergne 0.60%
N°23 Limousin 0.50%
