How Paris intends to win back companies

Paris is an attractive, rich city and is the economic and political centre of France. Images abound which make one think that Paris' development goes without saying. And yet its inhabitants and companies are gradually leaving the city. Is Paris going to become a city of shops and leisure, with an increasing proportion of rich and elderly residents because of apartment prices, deserted by companies and consequently deprived of important financial resources? One of the solutions which preocupied both the City council and the Paris Chamber of commerce to counteract this trend, was the creation in 1996 of an agency for economic development, aimed at promoting the city internationally and attracting investors. Hubert Duault outlines the agency's main resources, the action it can take and the initial results.