France

Le Havre, France, a city of 175,000 in the Normandy region, is an important port. The Seine River empties into the Atlantic at Le Havre, 134 miles northwest of Paris.

Behind Marseille, France, Le Havre is the country’s second-largest port and France’s main Atlantic port. In 2015, Le Havre handled 2.6 million TEUS of cargo, making it the 11th-busiest port in Europe. Le Havre accounts for about 60 percent of France’s container traffic flow. Le Havre is also an active maritime passenger port.

Lille is France’s fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. Close to the border of Belgium and just 70 miles from Brussels, Lille has a population of about 1 million.

Euralille, a large urban renewal project that has grown into France’s third-largest business district, sits at the junction of the passenger train lines that connects Brussels, Paris and London.

France’s city of Lyon has a population of 1.3 million, and the greater metropolitan area has a population of 2.2 million, making it the country’s second-largest city. The region is Europe’s fifth-largest economy in terms of total GDP.

Lyon is France’s second most important industrial and financial sector. After Paris, it is the most popular city for foreign investors. Among the major companies based in Lyon are Sanofi and Lafarge.

A cosmopolitan and historic port city, Marseille is France’s gateway to the Mediterranean and a major center for logistics. Marseille is France’s third-largest metropolitan area with more than 1.7 million residents.

Marseille derives much of its economic strength from its bustling port. Tourism, trade and exports are among the city’s leading industries.

Orléans, 70 miles south of Paris on the Loire River in north-central France, is the capital of the Centre-Val de Loire region. Orléans has a metropolitan area population of almost 273,000. Employment in the region is driven primarily by services and agriculture.
Orleans is home to the University of Orléans. The city’s historic center and association with Joan of Arc attracts a large number of tourists each year.

Paris, with a population of 12.5 million consumers, is among Europe’s largest logistics markets. The city commands one-third of France’s total GDP. Its economy is driven by financial, business and IT services.

A thriving center of global commerce, Paris serves as headquarters to 25 Fortune 500 companies—the third-highest concentration after Tokyo and Beijing. As such, much of the demand for industrial real estate and warehouse property in Paris is driven by local consumption.

Rennes is the capital of France’s Brittany province. Rennes has a population of about 207,000 and its broader metropolitan area is home to about 700,000, making it France’s tenth-largest urban area. With two main universities, Rennes has a student population of about 60,000.

Strasbourg, which sits on the Rhine River at the France-Germany border, is the capital of France’s Alsace region. It has a population of about 470,000.

Strasbourg is one of the capitals of the European Union and home to the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights.