The Geography of Prosperity and Challenge

In the medieval center of Toulouse, aerospace engineer Camille Rousseau walks past rose-colored brick buildings on her way to Airbus headquarters, where she designs next-generation aircraft wings. Eight hundred kilometers away in Valenciennes, former steel worker Michel Lefebvre opens his small computer repair shop, trying to build a new life in a city still scarred by deindustrialization. On the island of La Réunion, 9,000 kilometers from mainland France, entrepreneur Priya Patel exports innovative tropical fruit preserves to European markets, navigating the unique challenges of ultra-peripheral economics.

These three lives illustrate a fundamental truth about France: speaking of "the French economy" obscures dramatic regional variations in prosperity, opportunity, and economic structure. While Paris dominates international perceptions and economic statistics, the true story of France lies in understanding its diverse regional economies—from thriving tech hubs to struggling post-industrial towns, from tourist paradises to agricultural heartlands, from dynamic metropolitan areas to emptying rural spaces.

This chapter explores France's economic geography, examining how history, policy, and geography create distinct regional economies. We'll travel beyond the Périphérique to understand how different parts of France experience economic transformation, why some regions thrive while others struggle, and what these disparities mean for national cohesion and policy.