19/08/2011 - Europe's hottest startup capitals: Paris (Wired UK) (Natha Sorin)
London's startup scene is booming -- you need only read Wired to see that.
But what are Europe's other hot digital cities -- and which are the companies and founders to watch? Welcome to Wired's first annual guide to the continent's rising stars.
PARIS
With venture capital now more accessible, the Parisian digital ecosystem is thriving. La Nouvelle Vague of business has arrived.
Co-ordinates: 48°51'N 18°04'E
Population: 2,193,000
Size: 105.4km2
Global Cities Index ranking 2010: 4
In December 2008, during the final session at the LeWeb conference in Paris, organiser Loïc Le Meur and an American panel that included TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington engaged in a debate about how European startups compare to those in Silicon Valley. Le Meur argued that it was hard for successful French startups to move beyond national borders. To prove his point, he asked the others if they had ever heard of Vente-Privee. None had.
http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/09/european-startups/paris
