Technological clusters

CERGY-PONTOISE, A MAJOR URBAN DISTRICT WITH LINKS TO THE ECONOMIC CENTRES OF PARIS, LA DÉFENSE AND ROISSY CHARLES-DE-GAULLE.

 Built from 1969 onwards on a surface area similar to that of Paris, Cergy-Pontoise is the préfecture of the Val d'Oise, a city with a population of 200 000 and all the facilities necessary for the well-being of those who live and work there.
Cergy-Pontoise has an efficient transport network:

- SNCF rail links to two Paris stations: the Gare du Nord and the Gare Saint-Lazare, and lines A and C on the RER (Réseau Express Régional), bringing the journey time to the heart of Paris to just 35 minutes.

- La Défense is 20 minutes away by car, via the A15 and A86 motorways.

- Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport is half an hour away via the Francilienne ring road.

- the « Bus Express » route links Cergy-Pontoise to Charles-de-Gaulle airport and the TGV station.

- goods may be transported on the river Oise, from the river ports.

- there is a business airport just a few minutes from the city centre.

In terms of higher education, there are 18 000 students at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, and over 13 000 students at the business and engineering graduate schools (ESSEC1, ENSEA2, EISTI3, EPMI4, ITIN5, Institut Polytechnique Saint-Louis, etc.) Cergy-Pontoise, with the second-largest concentration of higher education in the Ile-de-France region after Paris, has both academic and industrial potential (with over 4 000 companies) and thus acts as an economic driving force for the whole département.

1 ESSEC: Graduate School of Economics and Business
2 ENSEA: Graduate School for Electronics and Applications
3 EISTI: International School of Data Processing Sciences
4 EPMI : School of Electricity, Production and Industrial Methods
5 ITIN: Graduate School of Computer science, networks and telecommunications

FOUR OTHER COMPLEMENTARY CLUSTERS IN THE VAL D'OISE

 THE "RIVES DE SEINE", area on the banks of the Seine to the south, close to Paris-La Défense, is ideally located to accommodate technological and service companies. The industrial cluster at Argenteuil and Bezons, which has a university campus, specialises in aeronautics, metalworking and high-tech industry, along with fine chemicals and plastics. The new tram line from La Défense and western Paris adds to the area's appeal.

 THE "PAYS DE FRANCE", to the north-west, is an area where private homes are the predominant form of development. Local stakeholders are fostering job creation by establishing and upgrading business parks for small and medium-sized businesses and industries, including those at Persan and Beaumont-sur-Oise. The creation of a multimodal cluster (waterway / rail / road) in the Bruyères-sur-Oise business park forms part of this development.

 THE MONTMORENCY VALLEY is above all a select residential area. However the human-sized business parks in the combined urban areas of « Val et Forêt » and « Montmorency Valley », and those of the other towns in the area (Sannois, Enghien-les-Bains, etc.) located on the RER line and the express lines to the Gare Saint-Lazare and the Gare du Nord also have a very rich fabric of specialised SMEs: high technology and subcontracting for mechanics, plastics and electronics.

 THE "FRENCH VEXIN", which stretches over the entire western part of the département, has maintained its rural feel due to continued farming and its classification as a Regional Natural Park. The quality of life there attracts new inhabitants drawn by the advantages of choice property offers in a protected environment.