Tie-ups between French and British companies in readiness for the Single European Market have not been proceeding quickly enough for the dynamic 25-year old French department – county of Essonne. So rather than wait for the European Commission to approve and finance a business broking service between the two countries, the department has taken the bit between its teeth and is making the running with its own Eurobjectif project. The project has been funded to the tune of UKP130,000 by the French state government and the General Council of Essonne to cover administrative costs, while direct expenses are being taken up by the participating companies themselves. So far there has been no financial help from the UK side. Companies within Essonne are particularly interested in forging business partnerships with companies in other countries because the region boasts a strong population of small high technology companies in the telecommunications, information technology and electronics industries which require partnerships in order to gain the necessary critical mass to survive in the Single European Market. To this end 25 French companies were in the UK the other day to begin discussions with 55 like-minded UK companies. So far the discussions are at an early stage and no partnership has yet been sealed with a contract. Furthermore, any other UK companies not yet involved in the project but which are interested in finding out what the department has to offer are more than welcome to participate. The region is located just south of Paris in the Ile de France and has easy access to the UK via Orly Airport and will be less than two hours away by high speed train should the Channel Tunnel ever be completed. More than 50% of France’s public funded research takes place in Essonne’s development laboratories which are already favoured by the likes of Thomson-CSF, Alcatel and the French Nuclear Commission. Shouldn’t the UK take the initiative to go to Paris to extol the virtues of the M4 corridor?
