Clermont Auvergne Métropole

At the heart of the Massif Central, Clermont Auvergne Métropole is the economic capital in the centre of France. It is a dynamic urban area, composed of 21 municipalities which covers an area of 300,62 km2, home to around 300.000 inhabitants, and surrounded by a well-preserved natural environment of lakes and volcanoes. This urban community has around 38 000 students in one of the best universities of France, as well as 14 000 companies, including the corporate headquarters of Michelin, world leader of the tire industry.

Clermont Auvergne Métropole is one of France’s 22 metropolitan areas. Made up of 21 municipalities for 300,000 inhabitants, it is a human-sized metropolis, at the centre of the economic flows that exist between Lyon, Bordeaux, Montpellier or Paris. Counting a number of international industrial leaders - such as Michelin, Limagrain, Volvic – Danone Group, Aubert & Duval – Eramet Group, Trelleborg, Banque de France, and Constellium - Clermont Auvergne Métropole is the economic hub of central France. On the territory, public / private partnerships offer cutting-edge research and development, through a collective of competitiveness clusters, academic laboratories of excellence, private R & D centres and 7,500 researchers (one of the largest concentrations of researchers in Europe).

The DNA of Clermont Auvergne Métropole is made up of five strategic business areas :
- innovative industry and mobility
- agriculture and environment
- well-being, prevention, health and nutrition
- digital economy
- cultural and creative industries

Each year, Clermont Auvergne Métropole welcomes more than 400,000 visitors and 5,000 exhibitors from 85 nationalities, through major events, such as the International Short Film Festival, the European festival of the emerging scene Europavox, the International Festival of Extraordinary Textile or the Effervescences program. Clermond-Ferrand is candidate to be European Capital of Culture in 2028.

Clermont is in the heart of a green setting, near the biggest regional natural park of France (400 000 hectares) in an unspoilt environment. The chain of extinct volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys – Limagne was added to Unesco’s World Heritage List in July 2018. It is the first natural site in mainland France to join the list. The Chaîne des Puys is a unique geological site with a 32-km-long chain of 80 volcanoes. The highest is the Puy-de-Dôme (1.465 m.), overlooking Clermont Auvergne Métropole.