La Samaritaine: redevelopment to include 23,000 m² of retail floorspace.

Following several months of uncertainty, the Mairie de Paris has approved the latest plans presented by LVMH for its La Samaritaine department store. The new scheme includes the creation of a retail hub including a convenience food store.

The City of Paris has given the go-ahead for the third redevelopment proposal for the La Samaritaine department store in the 1^st arrondissement. The scheme includes housing, a convenience food store and a crèche with spaces for 60 children. On the Seine side of the building, La Samaritaine will include offices – fewer than in the initial project, but complemented by an international meeting and conference centre.

Find the great Parisian department stores on Econovista, the free interactive economic map of Paris Region

Luc Besson launches his Cité du Cinéma (European film centre).

Luc Besson has officially launched his Cité du Cinéma project in Seine-Saint-Denis. Work on the site is scheduled to commence in December and the centre will host Luc Besson’s own production company, EuropaCorp, as well as ENS Louis-Lumière (the national film, photography and sound engineering school).

Luc Besson first announced the plans for this project at the Cannes Festival in 2005 – and now his Cité Européenne du Cinéma is set to take shape, on the site of a former power station in the Pleyel district of Saint-Denis.

This ambitious project, covering an area of 6.5 hectares, aims to bring together all the various specialist technologies involved in film production, providing the capability to make a film from start to finish without leaving the site.

The facilities offered by the centre will include 9 film sets of 600 to 2,000 m² spread over 13,000 m², set-building workshops, equipment storage, shops and restaurants.

When completed, the complex will also include 30,000 m² of offices, half of them rented by Europacorp. Luc Besson’s company’s head office will be based here, occupying 4,000 m². The remaining area will be divided into offices which can be let to meet the needs of companies involved in film-making at the centre.

ENS Louis-Lumière, the national film, photography and sound engineering school, will occupy the remaining 15,000 m².

Find Seine-Saint-Denis on Econovista, the interactive economic map of Paris Region

Economy: Paris Region economic performance indicators, first quarter 2009

Paris Region economy holds up better than the rest of France

As in the other regions of France and in the rest of the world, in the first quarter of 2009 the Paris Region economy confirmed the sharp slowdown of the final quarter of 2008. Yet Paris Region seems to have held up better than other French regions. Unemployment, for example, has risen significantly in recent months but remains 1.3 points below the national average, standing at 7.4% in Q1 2009 (having been 6.7% in Q4 2008), as compared with 8.7% for France as a whole.

Similarly, the rising number of company failures is less pronounced in Paris Region than in France as a whole. In addition, the introduction of the “auto-entrepreneur” tax scheme for small businesses has, as expected, produced a boom in company start-ups: even though 2007 and 2008 were very good years, company start-ups in Paris Region soared by 32% compared with the same quarter in 2008 and by 45% compared with Q4 2008.

See the latest performance scoreboard online

Explore selected aspects of the region’s economy on Econovista, the interactive economic map of Paris Region

1st quarter 2009 : Paris Region suffers less than others regions

Alongside other French regions and the rest of the world, in the 1st quarter of 2009, the Paris Region economy confirmed the slowdown that hit it in the 4th quarter of 2008. Paris Region, however, seems to have suffered less than other regions. Although the unemployment rate in the region has increased sharply in recent months, for example, it is 1.3 points below the national level; unemployment was 7.4% in the 1st quarter of 2009 (up from 6.7% in the 4th quarter of 2008) compared with 8.7% for France as a whole.

Similarly, the increase in the number of business failures is less marked than it might have been compared with the national level. In addition, as expected, the number of business start-ups has been quite remarkable since the introduction of the French government's new "auto-entrepreneur" stimulus plan for small businesses; whilst 2007 and 2008 were very good years, business start-ups in Paris Region jumped by 32% compared with the same quarter in 2008 and by 45% compared with the 4th quarter of 2008.

Find out the latest economic scoreboard online

Find more information about Paris Region Economy on Econovista the free economic interactive map of Paris Region.