Toulouse Métropole

Toulouse Métropole is an ‘Etablissement Public de Coopération Intercommunale’ (public institution of inter-community cooperation) in France, bringing together 37 municipalities, including the City of Toulouse (4th French city), around a common planning and development project.

The metropolis has a population of 755 882 inhabitants and the urban area, 1.3 M inhabitants. 25% of the population are students. One of the main challenges of the territory is the demographic growth: 4th urban area in France, in 10 years, the metropolis has gained more than 200 000 inhabitants.

The highest decision-making body is the Metropolitan Council, chaired par the president and composed of 134 Councillors elected by universal direct suffrage, that vote the decisions. The elections are held every 6 years.

The metropolis is mainly in charge (for its 37 cities) of the transports and mobility issues, business development and employment, urban planning and land-use policy, waste management, housing and social cohesion, environment and sustainable development, water and sanitation, roads & cleanliness, leisure centres, culture and sports etc.

Toulouse Métropole is one of the most dynamic regions in Europe. It’s the world capital of aeronautics (the headquarters of Airbus are in Toulouse) and the European capital of space industry and plays a key role in international space projects such as Galileo, Curiosity (Mars) or Philae. The city has 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The metropolis is proud to host renowned laboratories and research organisations, as well as a flourishing network of SMEs and start-ups. These thrive alongside the major groups and platforms to disseminate technology and strengthen cooperation between research and industry. All the local stakeholders are actively involved in supporting and extending this ecosystem of innovation.

Quality innovation, research and education have always been part of Toulouse's DNA and are an essential driver of its economic development.