A vibrant sunset in Paris. The Eiffel Tower is in the centre and the sky is deep blue, descending into bright orange.
Image: © Luciano Mortula-LGM/Stock.adobe.com

Everything you need to know about the Paris sci-tech scene

1 Mar 2019

Throughout the month of February, the Siliconrepublic.com team examined the Paris sci-tech scene and what it has to offer those who want to relocate.

Paris has grown exponentially as a sci-tech hub in recent years and is quickly becoming one of the most attractive cities in Europe for sci-tech companies, investors and entrepreneurs to set up shop.

Throughout the month of February, we took a closer look at the Parisian sci-tech scene to see what exactly makes it so alluring for businesses and employees alike.

From an employee point of view, the Careers team focused on what makes the city such an attractive place to work. With the help of Hays, we looked at the sci-tech jobs in Paris, the hottest industries and the average salaries.

Banking and insurance are the largest sectors of employment in Paris, and therefore the city’s fintech sector is a strong pursuit for tech workers. In fact, John Kennedy spoke to Sinead Lonergan and Elaine Howley from the Enterprise Ireland Paris office about why Irish fintech needs to take the road to France.

However, the city’s biotech sector is also something to behold, especially for those working in the industry thinking about a change of scenery. Colm Gorey looked at the major biotech companies in Paris, from impressive firms with IPOs to newer players such as Runlabs, a UK company due to open a brand new biotech lab and accelerator in Paris.

While the city already has established fintech and biotech industries, mathematician Cédric Villani’s plan is to make France an AI leader as well. Ellen Tannam took a closer look at Villani’s national AI strategy.

Aside from the thriving industries within Paris, the city also enjoys certain labour laws that might be appealing to tech workers, from the ‘right to disconnect’ to the 35-hour work week.

Want to know more about the companies that are hiring in Paris? Wondering what it would be like if you were to move there? We’ve got you covered.

While the major industries and companies make up a large proportion of any sci-tech city, it is also largely shaped by the key influencers, experts and leaders therein. We chose 10 of Paris’s foremost tech players working, operating or living in the city.

Of course, no sci-tech hub would be complete without a focus on its start-ups, and Kennedy selected 10 hot start-ups from Paris to watch in 2019, covering a wide array of technologies from fintech to supercomputing.

Finally, we couldn’t truly examine the Paris sci-tech scene without speaking to some of those who live and breathe in the hub itself.

Roxanne Varza is the leader of Station F, the biggest start-up campus in the world. She spoke to Siliconrepublic.com about her vision for the future of Station F.

We also spoke to Delphine Remy-Boutang about her career journey and why she co-founded an event dedicated to women’s entrepreneurship. She shared her advice for other women working in tech.

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Jenny Darmody
By Jenny Darmody

Jenny Darmody became the editor of Silicon Republic in 2023, having worked as the deputy editor since February 2020. When she’s not writing about the science and tech industry, she’s writing short stories and attempting novels. She continuously buys more books than she can read in a lifetime and pretty stationery is her kryptonite. She also believes seagulls to be the root of all evil and her baking is the stuff of legends.

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