Franche-Comté

Neighbouring Switzerland, FRANCHE-COMTÉ stretches between the rivers Rhône and Rhine.
FRANCHE-COMTÉ, historically a land of invention and innovation, holds a place as a leader in France and even the world, in some very specific and very diversified markets, with its dynamic industrial infrastructure.

Population: 1,150,700 inhabitants spread across 4 departments: Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône and Territoire de Belfort.

French Interregional ranking:
1st for microtechnology
1st for eyewear
1st for clock and watchmaking
1st for toymaking 
2nd for die cutting and stamping processes
3rd for the automotive industry
3rd for surface coating and finishing

4 competitive clusters:
Microtechnology cluster
Vehicle of the Future cluster
Vitagora :Agrifoodstuffs cluster
Plastipolis :Plastics technology cluster 

Research:
5,840 people at work in private and public research
41 research units
2,757 researchers

Training:
4 major university institutions: the University of Franche-Comté, the Franche-Comté higher engineering institute, the French National Engineering Institute in Mechanics and Microtechnology and the University of Technology in Belfort-Montbéliard.
Specialised training: The Victor Bérard State technical high school, Ecole Espera Sbarro, EDGAR FAURE high school, the French national dairy industry graduate engineering school, the French national dairy industry and biotechnology graduate engineering school, the CFAI and the MOUCHARD Wood high school.