Futuroscope technology park, 6 miles from Poitiers, provides over 2.9 million ft² of hi-tech office space on 200 hectares of land, as well as a conference centre, hotels and restaurants, and 13 research laboratories. It is the largest enterprise park in the Vienne, and its second-largest employment base with 250 innovating companies, 7,000 employees, 400 researchers and 2,000 students.
In 1987, René Monory founded France’s first amusement park. He was chairman of the Vienne General Council when he devised the defining concept behind Futuroscope: a site focused on the future that would be home to a leisure destination, a business enterprise zone and a training hub, and which would provide a shot in the arm to the entrepreneurial spirit in the Vienne.
It proved to be a winning ticket, and now, 30 years later, Futuroscope is held up as the benchmark in regional development around the world.