France - Toulouse

Hamburg's connection to France - Toulouse/Occitania

There are long-standing economic ties between Hamburg and the Occitanie region in the south of France. With around 6 million inhabitants and the two metropolises of Toulouse and Montpellier, Occitania is a first-class economic centre with, among other things, the highest growth rate in France. Germany is not only the region's main economic partner, but also its main direct investor. Cooperation extends to an institutional and economic level and also includes research and science.

A milestone was reached in April 2020 with the opening of the Occitan representative office for Germany in Hamburg. While aerospace has of course always played a major role in Occitania, a lively exchange and concrete projects have developed in many areas in recent years. These include renewable energies/hydrogen, artificial intelligence, life science/healthtech and many more.

HamburgAmbassador Jean-Marc Dessapt

Jean-Marc Dessapt was appointed Hamburg Ambassador in May 2021, but was already involved in bilateral and international economic projects long before that. In his leading role at the regional business agency AD'OCC as Director of Invest, Trade and European Affairs, he is also Managing Director of the offshore offices managed by AD'OCC.

Franco-German and European relations run through his CV (e.g. in the context of Franco-German cooperation in defence technology and procurement at the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union, the European Commission).

Expertise for Hamburg

Four professionally dressed people smiling, standing indoors against a brick wall with colourful banners. — HamburgAmbassador Jean-Marc Dessapt with his colleague Catherine Ariso, Kolja Harders, Economic Authority and Ole Christiansen, Hamburg Invest.

In his current role, Jean-Marc Dessapt is actively involved in cooperation between Hamburg and Occitania. As a trained engineer, he has the necessary technical expertise and network, as well as extensive experience in matters of bilateral and European cooperation. The teams of experts at the AD'OCC agency and the Hamburg office of the region contribute on a daily basis to establishing and maintaining links and developing concrete projects.

Some examples beyond the almost historical relations between HHAviation and Aerospace Valley: mutual learning expeditions in the field of healtchcare in 2024/25 (with the Life Science Nord cluster), joint EDIH project through collaboration with ARIC (MoU EDIH OccitanIA / EDIH 4UrbanSAVE), regular exchanges with the EEHH, BWI and Hamburg Invest. Occitania is strongly represented at Aircraft Interiors every year as well as at other relevant Hamburg events (WindEnergy, ITS Congress etc.).