Established in 2003, the metropolitan area surrounding Dieppe, referred to as Dieppe-Maritime, comprises 16 municipal authorities forming a joint project designed to improve the daily lives of its 55,000 inhabitants and 2,000 companies.

To achieve that task, Dieppe-Maritime has set up a number of agencies governing such sectors as economic expansion and employment, tourism, culture, and housing. All have adopted a sustainable development initiative (including a Local Agenda 21).

As the 3rd largest metropolitan area in terms of inhabitants in the Seine-Maritime département after CREA and Le Havre, Dieppe-Maritime is also the demographic and economic hub for a larger area.

Lying on the Channel halfway between Le Havre and Boulogne-sur-Mer, Dieppe is located at a crossroads linking England, Northern Europe and the Paris Basin.

That location has resulted in a special relationship with England and a long-standing tradition as a port.

From ships to shores

The development of Dieppe and the surrounding area has been deeply influenced by the sea and its various activities (trade, yachting, fishing and cross-Channel traffic) but also by the wealth and diversity of its economic fabric (the automotive industry, food processing, mechanical engineering, metalworking, plastics industry, etc.).

To support its economy, Dieppe-Maritime has set up a genuine development strategy in favour of business and employment, including:

• The replacement of the Single Business Tax with the introduction of the Corporate Real Estate Tax (CFE) – the CFE rate stood at 13.74% in 2010 (smoothing over 12 years began in 2002 with the Single Business Tax). One of the most attractive rates in France.
• The establishment of a special business tax exemption system for the creation, buyout or restructuring of companies (from 100% in the 1st year to 25% in the 5th year).
• Two business hotels in the EuroChannel Regional Business Park.
• The rehabilitation of a food-processing building to accommodate new service activities.
• Introduction of a Local Integration and Employment Plan (PLIE): (Programme Local pourl’Insertion et l’Emploi)
• The creation of an Employment Exchange for the Dieppe area.
• The performance of a study on business and trades in rural areas as part of a development plan backed by the Fund in support of Services, Business and Trades (FISAC), etc.

Of conquerors and conquests

Dieppe has made its mark as a city of sailors and ship-owners. Dieppe’s history is strewn with events and explorations, such as the discovery and settlement of Canada in the 16th century (in 1508, JehanAngo sent Thomas Aubert to explore the shores of Newfoundland and in May 1639, three nuns from the Augustinian Monastery of Thibermont set sail to found the Hotel-Dieu in Quebec).

A region rich with history and heritage

Another feature of the region surrounding Dieppe is its rich history and heritage. Although naturally focusing on the sea, source for many years and in many forms of the city’s wealth and development, Dieppe also has a vast hinterland with beautiful parks, gardens, downs and dales between land and sea, as well as a wealth of heritage sites (such as the Château de Miromesnil where Guy de Maupassant stayed, and the Château d'Arques-la-Bataille, a feudal construction dating from the 11th century...). The City of Dieppe was the first to obtain France’s City of Art and History label.

Many celebrated artists and writers have also stayed in the region, such as George Braque (who was buried in Varengeville-sur-Mer), Claude Monet and Guy de Maupassant, to name but a few.

A wealth of sig hts to see and things to do for tourists

The region also has a wide variety of sights to see and things to do for tourists that together make Dieppe so vibrant and attractive, from the International Kite Festival to the Tour de France Sailing Race, Mediaeval Music Festival, Golf Course, Casino, Racetrack, and the new balneotherapycentre...