Trend: French Tech weaves its web

The days of long, stuffy business lunches, with a three-piece suit pressed to the body and a tight tie, are long gone. In Paris, where traditions die hard, jeans and trainers have taken over and business is done more informally, but just as effectively. Where are you doing business? In quirky, well-designed places, coworking spaces where creative entrepreneurs sit on their sofas and have direct contact with London, Berlin, New York and San Francisco via Skype or Whatsapp...

FAR FROM CORPORATE CODES

The era of digital technology and globalisation has come and gone. Little by little, French habits have caught up with those of the Anglo-Saxons. As pioneers, the three Van den Broek brothers and their childhood friend Xavier Jacquemet founded one of the first coworking spaces in Paris, in the 19th arrondissement. A far cry from corporate codes, La Mutinerie opened in 2012 near Colonel Fabien metro station. "We came from different fields, we were young, and we needed a network and a place to work differently, explains William Van den Broek, one of the three brothers. We knew about New York and Berlin, where coworking spaces were beginning to spring up, and that's how the idea of a community was born.".

In this former restaurant transformed into a studious beehive, the relaxed atmosphere is as striking as the average age: 30 to 35 years old maximum... In the early afternoon, a few members are busy behind the restaurant's still existing counter preparing the cakes that will go like hot cakes at snack time or during coffee breaks where they discuss current affairs and foment new creative projects. On the sofas, under a string of photos - the portraits of the 160 active members - people talk business or tap away on their laptops. But the real sinews of war lie elsewhere, behind a back door that leads to the former editorial room of an architecture magazine, transformed into a vast open space where people work on ping-pong tables. There's not a sound to be heard, except that of keyboards and concentrated sighs. "We were very successful very quickly, which is why we wanted to extend the concept. That's why we've just opened a country branch in the Perche region of France, where you can continue your professional networking in a bucolic setting, with 'techno-detox' sessions where phones and computers are relegated to the back of a drawer for the weekend."smiles William Van den Broek.

The coworking concept has flourished in Paris since the emergence of Silicon Sentier around La Cantine, a space launched in 2008 before expanding even further under the name Numa. More than forty spaces have opened in the last five years, while we await the arrival of American specialist WeWork, which will be setting up shop on rue Lafayette in summer 2017. Of the latest spaces to open, Kwerk is undoubtedly the most upmarket. Launched in 2015 in Boulogne, this boutique coworking centre opened its first Paris branch in May in the 8th arrondissement, with a 2,200 m2 space spread over five floors. The address alone bodes well: rue de la Bienfaisance. Founders Albert Angel and Lawrence Knights - an angel and a knight, isn't that also a good sign? -One a businessman, the other an architect and designer, they describe themselves as nomadic workers with an eye for trends. "We wanted to apply our experience of hospitality to the world of work and living together."explains Lawrence.

These offices, which resemble design hotels, where clients are greeted by monumental sculptures and deep sofas, and where conferences can be organised at rock-bottom prices, quickly attracted the interest of Parisians. "Paris is on the move," continues the co-founder. There's a real desire for this type of space, which is much more welcoming than traditional offices, offering all kinds of services and facilities, but which also encourages people to get in touch."Other Kwerks, all with the same quirky, elegant spirit, are expected to open in 2017 on boulevard Haussmann in Paris, as well as in Neuilly and Levallois... .

NEW DESIGN SPIRIT

What makes this new business spirit so successful is undoubtedly the growing importance attached to design. In 2009, a study showed that 60 % of companies in all sectors had never before called on the services of a designer, either for packaging or for a logo, but things are changing. The Lieu du Design, set up in 2009 by the Île-de-France Regional Council to encourage businesses to make use of this expertise, is part of this trend. Housed in the former general shops of the City of Paris, the space brings companies together for training courses, and over a thousand have been supported in this way in the last six years. "While traditional companies have been slow to grasp this challenge, start-ups, born with digital tools, use it spontaneously, as a matter of course."explains Stéphane Simon, the venue's director.

A stone's throw from the old general shops, another space emblematic of the new way of working has just opened this year: the Cargo. The largest incubator in Paris at the moment, it brings together promising young start-ups looking to accelerate their development over 16,000 m2. In 2017, the French Tech award will go to the Halle Freyssinet, in the 13th arrondissement. Bought from the SNCF by Xavier Niel, the boss of Free, this former railway warehouse dating from the 1920s is set to be transformed, with its 34,000 sq. m. of floor space, into... the biggest incubator on the planet, in a setting designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte.

Extravagant? Too ambitious? The Parisian innovation ecosystem is exploding, with nearly 70 incubators and 5,000 start-ups - 1,500 more every year! The sector already employs 400,000 people in the Ile-de-France region, with the digital sector accounting for 5.5 % of French GDP. It's no coincidence that Paris is ranked third in the world's most attractive cities in the latest PwC "Cities of opportunities" ranking, after London and Toronto. This shows that the museum city is far from being stuck in its glorious past.

NOTEBOOK

The Mutiny 29, rue de Meaux - 75019 - Tel: 09 81 14 92 00 - Internet : www.mutinerie.org Numa 39, rue du Caire - 75002 - Internet : paris.numa.co WeWork 33, rue la Fayette - 75009 - Phone: +44 20 3695 4926 - Internet : www.wework.com Kwerk 44-46, rue de la Bienfaisance - 75008 - Tel: 06 40 47 35 71 - Internet : www.kwerk.fr Le Lieu du Design 11, rue de Cambrai - 75019 - Tel.: 01 40 41 51 02 - Internet: www.lelieududesign.com Le Cargo 157, boulevard Macdonald - 75019 - Internet : www.lecargo.paris Freyssinet Hall 55, boulevard Vincent Auriol - 75013 - Internet : halle-freyssinet.com