French Tech: A new form of territorial mobilization to face up to global competition?

Résumé 0

With the aim to companies to exist in the climate of globalization, public economic development policies focus on innovation, competitiveness and the territorial structuring of the processes leading them to innovate. Many local development agencies have turned to support and implement facilitation mechanisms for companies. From this point of view, the French Tech initiative launched in France in 2013 raises the question of the enhancement and knock-on effects this type of public policy could bring for reinforcing the link between companies and local areas on the one hand, and on their resistance to increased international competition on the other. This policy is at once communication tool and vehicle for fostering outward visibility. It is also a pretext for federating the territory’s actors by (re)constituting the French ecosystem of start-ups. The results of such a recent policy are investigated here with reference to proximities and local perceptions.