Lyon is a prominent city in France with a friendly business climate. It can compete with Paris in terms of business and investment opportunities. Being the third largest city in France, Lyon is an important business center with the population of about 500 000 million people. It is also an industrial core of France famous with its textile and silk; chemical and pharmaceutical industries are well-developed here too. Biotechnology and medicine are thriving sectors of the metropolitan economy. Health care is also highly developed -the city is considered to be the medical center of Europe; the World Health Organization has its headquarter in Lyon. Software technologies and video games production are rapidly growing. There are 1800 foreign companies working in the region, which is 25% of the total number in France.
