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Business Profile: The 'Grand Avignon', comprising two regional administrative districts (Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur and Languedoc-Roussillon) and three departments (Vaucluse, Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône), has a population of some 458,500 and is administered from Avignon Town Hall.

Avignon is centrally located and has easy access to Marseilles, Lyon and Paris. Just a 40-minute drive from Marseilles, an hour from Lyon, and, with the new TGV MÉditerranÉ in 2001, 2 hours 40 minutes from Paris, Avignon also boasts an immense cultural wealth, in terms of monuments (such as the UNESCO-listed Palais des Papes) and the international Theatre Festival. These factors play an important role in the development of tourism (including business tourism), which is extremely important to Avignon's economy. Chemicals, packaging, construction, agriculture, metals and precision instruments comprise the industry in the region, while food and the production of appellation contrôlÉes wine also have a strong tradition in the area.

Local government, SNCF railways and EDF electricity are the main employers in Avignon, while there are numerous small businesses - bakeries, patisseries and retail outlets. The university (with 10,000 students) has kept Avignon's population young.

Unemployment statistics are on the way down - from 14.8% in 1997 to 11.8% in 1998 for the Vaucluse department (compared to the national level of 11.3%). These are expected to improve even further, once the positive impact of the year 2000 projects on the city's economy can be measured.

Business Etiquette: Avignon feels far away from Paris and its business practices are markedly different. Breakfast meetings are rare, only materialising for large conferences during the Theatre Festival. Normally, meetings are fixed for mid-morning or mid-afternoon, while lunch meetings usually only involve colleagues already embarked on a joint project. Punctuality is not expected: being fifteen minutes late is standard practice. No excuse is necessary other than 'J'ai eu un retard' ('I was delayed'). In other respects, however, conducting business in Avignon is quite a formal affair. Meetings should be confirmed in writing and colleagues addressed by their surname. Smart dress is appropriate. Businesswomen should take heart from the fact that the city's dynamic mayor is a woman - Marie-JosÉe Roig.



Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
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