The French government’s Delegation a l’Amenagement du Territoire et l’Action Regionale, which is chartered to foster migration from the Isle de France around Paris to the regions, has partnered with France Telecom to launch its second call to French industry and academia for proposals for tele-working projects. The joint project is the second in two years for the quango, which resulted in 300 proposals and 33 projects that are still operational. The Delegation is charged with balancing the development of all of the regions of France, not just the most developed like the Isle de France (Paris area) and Rhone-Alpes (Lyon area), with the repartition of the activities of men and businesses, it said. France Telecom says its financial participation in the project could reach a maximum of $1.8m. In each project selected, the financial support from the Delegation and France Telecom can go as high as 50% of operational costs. All projects submitted must be in one of two categories: creating enterprises for long-distance information processing, or setting up new organisational practices within existing companies or public bodies.
