Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis: Shaping global growth from southern France

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With a blend of historical richness and future-forward ambition, the region is not only cultivating a vibrant identity of its own – it’s becoming a model for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable metropolitan growth.

Once known largely for its Provençal landscapes and storied coastline, the Aix-Marseille Provence Metropolis, home to 1.89 million residents, is reinventing itself. “We’re not just trying to catch up,” says Martine Vassal, President of the Aix-Marseille Provence Metropolis. “We’re de signing a new model for sustain able metropolitan development. We are positioning ourselves as a strategic gateway for transatlantic business, innovation partnerships, and green industrial renewal.”

“We’re designing a new model for sustainable metropolitan development.” – Martine Vassal, President of Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis

Europe’s southern crossroads, global business platform

In addition to leveraging its strategic location, the region has invested in substance: advanced research, resilient infrastructure, and next-generation urban planning. American giants Oracle, Cisco, IBM, and ExxonMobil are already present. The regional strategy emphasizes co-location of R&D assets, a bilingual talent pool, and alignment with EU regulatory frameworks – particularly in sustainability and digital sovereignty.

The metropolitan area is also building long-term institutional and commercial links with the United States. Trade missions to Texas, California, and the U.S. Northeast are ongoing, and new delegations are strengthening cross-sector collaboration in health, digital technology, and green energy. “American companies are our top investors,” Vassal says. “Every year, we welcome 10 to 20 new U.S. firms.”

Energy transition and climate innovation

The region has positioned itself as a key node in Europe’s green transformation.

At the center of this ambition is ITER – the world’s largest experimental fusion reactor. Located north of Aix-en-Provence, Adjacent to ITER, CEA Cadarache anchors a dense ecosystem focused on clean energy innovation, from hydrogen and offshore wind to smart grids and energy storage.

In Aix-en-Provence, the Arbois Méditerranée Technopark stands as one of the world’s top four cleantech science parks. “Its startups regularly win international awards,” says Lionel Flasseur, Director of One Provence, the metropolis’ international promotion agency. “The region is not just innovating – it’s scaling climate solutions with global relevance.” One Provence plays a catalytic role in this shift by connecting academia, startups, industries, and institutions. Its promotion of large-scale renewable energy projects – such as green hydrogen and floating solar and wind facilities – has positioned the region as a European reference in energy transition. “Our ambition is to position Aix-Marseille-Provence as the Mediterranean region of major economic, social and environmental change, by nature and conviction,” Flasseur adds.

This cleantech momentum is driving new France-U.S. collaborations. American firms specializing in battery technology, industrial decarbonization, and environ mental monitoring are conducting pilot projects in the region, thanks to real-world testing environments and proximity to research institutions. “We want to keep industry here – but make it cleaner,” adds Vassal. “This is a deep transformation, not a marketing pitch.”

The role of One Provence: aligning identity and influence

Supporting this regional narrative is One Provence, the economic promotion agency co-created by public and private stakeholders. It is far more than a branding initiative – it functions as a strategic governance platform that aligns investment, international visibility, and long-term planning.

“We work with businesses, investors, universities, and local communities,” explains Lionel Flasseur, Managing Director of One Provence. “This isn’t just marketing – it’s eco system building.”

Unlike conventional top-down campaigns, One Provence operates through sector-specific task forces composed of tourism professionals, local businesses, institutional leaders, and global investors. Their shared mission is to synchronize the region’s development priorities with its international ambitions. One Provence’s approach actively reshapes perception. “Provence has long been known for the sea, lavender, and gastronomy – but we are more than that,” says Flasseur. “We now tell the stories of innovators, researchers, and creators who reflect the region’s transformation.” This isn’t just a communications strategy; it’s an investment tool.

Research shows that image alone can drive up to 37% of foreign direct investment. In close collaboration with its operational partner, Provence Promotion, One Provence promotes the region’s priority sectors – digital technologies, health, energy transition, and sustainable logistics.

Its messaging is carefully calibrated to resonate with a broad international audience: investors, entrepreneurs, students, and mobile global talent. “We’re not selling a postcard,” Flasseur stresses. “We’re presenting a region that’s competitive, resilient, and ready to lead.”

“We’re presenting a region that’s competitive, resilient, and ready to lead.” – Lionel Flasseur, General Director of One Provence

One Provence also strengthens the region’s soft infrastructure – blending narrative authority with strategic influence. “We actively share authentic stories from local entrepreneurs, researchers, and cultural leaders,” Flasseur explains. These narratives position Provence not only as a desirable location but as a credible actor in the global knowledge and innovation economy. By amplifying the region’s intellectual capital and entrepreneurial depth, One Provence broadens its international relevance and appeal beyond its lifestyle appeal.

Founded by key regional institutions, including the Métropole Aix Marseille-Provence, the Euroméditerranée development body, the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille Fos, and Marseille Provence Air port, One Provence orchestrates a tightly coordinated investment pipeline. With this institutional backing, One Provence delivers high-impact support for growth sectors – ensuring that investor interest turns into long-term commitments.

“Our model works because it aligns the ambition of public actors with the agility of private enterprise,” says Flasseur. The result is a plat form where strategic storytelling meets operational delivery – transforming visibility into measurable economic outcomes.

Knowledge economy and youth capital

At the heart of the regional transformation is education and talent. Aix-Marseille University (AMU), France’s largest public university, plays a pivotal role. With over 80,000 students and 140 research units, AMU serves as a living lab oratory for applied science, social inclusion, and international research collaboration.

The Mediterranean House of Human Sciences (MMSH) in Aix en-Provence, for instance, offers interdisciplinary platforms for scholars working on the cultural and geopolitical dynamics of the Mediterranean. “This is a region that blends deep academic roots with global urgency,” AMU President Eric Berton explains.

“Universities should be where solutions are already being prepared – not just where crises are analyzed after the fact,” says Berton. Under his leadership, AMU has taken on a visible global role in AI, migration studies, climate, and health sciences. Partnerships with U.S. universities are expanding, and American companies are collaborating on biotech, oncology, and data science initiatives.

The university’s openness to global talent has also been reinforced through the Safe Place for Science initiative. Designed to support American scientists facing professional restrictions or uncertainty at home, the initiative has drawn nearly 300 applications from top U.S. institutions – NASA, NIH, Johns Hopkins, Yale, Stanford, etc.

Full-spectrum platform for transatlantic partnership

The region’s economic and cultural duality – combining hard infrastructure with soft power – is what sets Aix-Marseille-Provence apart. Aix-en-Provence remains a classical stronghold for arts and education, while Marseille is a multicultural engine of renewal, with one of the youngest populations in Europe. The broader region stretches from tech and naval hubs in Toulon to agritech and tourism corridors in the Luberon.

From festivals in Avignon and Arles to vineyard innovation and blue economy ventures, the territory offers not just a landscape, but a platform. Luxury is redefined: bio climatic real estate, vineyard-side coworking, digital nomad visas, and wellness-centered urban ism. These dynamics increasingly attract U.S. entrepreneurs and venture funds seeking meaning, resilience, and return.

As global economies rethink their foundations, Aix-Marseille Provence is making its case: not just as a nice place to live, but as a serious place to build. From ports to pixels, from vineyards to labs, the region is quietly setting the tone for the Mediterranean’s next chapter – defined not by nostalgia, but by invention.

In a world asking difficult questions about energy, equity, and the environment, Aix-Marseille-Provence doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. It is, however, committed to creating conditions for those answers to emerge, with partners ready to shape them. “Paris is a global capital,” says Flasseur. “But we are a global gateway.”