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Offices and Office Space in France for Rent – Office Locations:

General Information:

The unitary semi-presidential French Republic is situated in the western region of the European Union and also has a number of territories on other continents inc. Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique. France extends from the Channel and North Sea down to the Mediterranean in the south and from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Rhine in the east. The country has the largest area of any state in the E.U. and is a major power within political, economic, military and cultural arenas and is a founding member of the United Nations. The French economy is the 5th largest in terms of nominal GDP, is a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) as well as being one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

French Geography:

France covers 211,209 sq mls (547,030 sq km) and the landscape varies from the mountains of the Alps and Pyrenees to coastal plains and the Massif Central. France actually homes the highest point in Western Europe, Mont Blanc which is 4807 metres above sea level and sits on France’s border with Italy. France also homes many famous rivers inc. the Garonne, the Seine, the Rhone and the Loire. We receive many requests for office space in France in major cities such as offices for rent in Lyon, serviced offices to let in Marseille, Paris office space and flexible office rental in Strasbourg. Most of these range in size from large, headquarters sized open-plan spaces down to single offices for satellite executives or sole directors. Rental terms avoid the long commitment of a lease / leasing commercial property in France or indeed outright sale; in fact, with terms as flexible as just a monthly commitment, serviced offices in France are even more flexible than sublet / sublease French commercial real estate.

The country is separated in to a total of twenty six different administrative regions which are, in turn split into various “arrondissements” and cantons and officebroker.com has managed to help a directory of businesses find office locations in France in areas inc offices with broadband in Alsace for rent, Bourgogne office space to let, offices in Ile-de-France with parking, vacant office spaces for rent in Bretagne, flexible executive offices to let in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, furnished office spaces in Rhone-Alpes. Many of these serviced offices are located in French business centres and offer furnished workstations with chairs, desks, phone systems and managed broadband connections along with additional corporate facilities inc reception and meeting suite rental on an ad hoc “pay as you use” basis. France has borders with Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg and it is linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel which is a rail transport link which crosses beneath the English Channel.

Commerce in France:

France adopted the Euro as its currency in 1999 replacing the Franc in early 2002. The country has nearly 2.5 million registered companies although the French government retains majority ownership of key sections of companies contributing to the national infrastructure inc. electricity, telecommunications, rail transport and aircraft manufacture although they have been relaxing its control since early in the 1990’s. France even has its own spaceport, the Centre Spatial Guyanais a.k.a. the Guiana Space Centre which has been operational since 1968 in French Guiana.

French Transport Infrastructure:

The French rail transport network, operated by SNCF, is the most extensive in Western Europe and covers 19,784 mls. The network operates high speed train services inc. the TGV, the Thalys and the Eurostar service as well as the Eurotunnel Shuttle service which runs through the Channel Tunnel connecting France to the UK. French cities also benefit from intra-urban transport connections inc. underground rail transport, bus services and tramway / metro services. The French road network consists of roughly 0.5 million mls of serviceable roads which cover the majority of the country. The road network around Paris is one of the most dense in France and the country’s roads also manage a large amount if international road users and freight. Unlike British road users, the French are not required to pay any road tax although majority of motorways are heavily tolled. The French road network boasts several landmarks inc. bridges such as the Pont de Normandie and the Millau Viaduct which is the world’s tallest road bridge.

Air transport in France is also exceptionally good with the country boasting 478 airports and landing fields. The country’s busiest and largest air transport hub is Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport which, along with France’s national airline Air France, connects France to virtually every other major city in the world. Sea freight is also well serviced in France with 10 major ports inc the largest, Marseille which sits on the Mediterranean coast; and just over 9000 mls of waterways inc the Garonne River and the Canal du Midi.

Tourism and Sport:

France is the world’s first ranked tourist destination with circa 81.9 million non-domestic tourists visiting each year. Popular tourist attractions inc. the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum which is the most visited museum in the world and the Palace of Versailles which became the hub of French political power from 1682 when the king moved there from Paris. Other popular destinations inc. the Arc de Triomphe (often mis-spelled as the Arc de Triumphe / Arc de Triumph), the former railway station the Gare d'Orsay which homes the Musee d’Orsay, The Pompidou Centre in Paris, the full name of which is Centre Georges Pompidou and Mont-Saint-Michel which is situated near Avranches at the mouth of the Couesnon River.

France hosts many world famous sporting events such as the Tour de France, the Le Mans 24 hour endurance car race, the Paris Masters and French Open tennis tournaments as well as hosting the 1998 FIFA World Cup inc the final which was held in Paris at the Stade de France and was won by the French national team whose nickname is “Les Bleus”. France has hosted three Winter Olympic Games: Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville in 1992.

History:

In 1919 the Palace of Versailles was the location used for the signing of the treaty of Versailles which marked the end of World War 1. Peace held until 1940 when France was invaded by the Germans during World War 2 until the Allied Nations achieved victory in 1945 when General Charles de Gaulle headed a provisional post war government. Between 1946 and 1954 the French Indochina War resulted in the loss of French colonies in Southeast Asia inc. Vietnam. In 1959 Charles De Gaulle became the President of the Fifth Republic and in 1962 France gave up control of the African country of Algeria and in 1981 France’s longest serving President, François Mitterrand was elected and served for 14 years. In 1991 the country elected the first female French Prime Minister, Edith Cresson and then in 1995 Jacques Chirac became President of the Fifth Republic. 2002 saw France adopt the Euro as its currency and in 2007 Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President.