Wisconsin has formalized a new economic and educational partnership with Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, a manufacturing-heavy region of eastern France, creating a state-backed channel for companies, researchers and investors to pursue joint work in four industries.
Gov. Tony Evers announced that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and its French counterpart approved the memorandum of understanding on Sept. 15. The state’s announcement identifies agri-food, energy, advanced manufacturing, and biotherapies and health sciences as the agreement’s priority fields.
The agreement is a framework rather than a disclosed grant or investment package. It commits the two economic-development organizations to coordinate, exchange expertise, foster collaborative projects and support company growth in their respective territories. The announcement did not attach a dollar value, identify participating businesses or promise that any project will move forward.
That distinction matters for Wisconsin employers assessing the immediate effect. The practical near-term opportunity is access: the organizations say they will connect companies, research institutions and investors, giving participants a more direct route to potential partners abroad. WisBusiness reported that the agreement is intended to help local businesses grow while expanding the exchange of technical and institutional expertise.
The partnership developed from Evers’ 2025 trade mission to Germany and France. During that trip, Wisconsin also signed a separate economic-development memorandum with Hessen. The 2025 state release described that earlier agreement as a vehicle for trade, business attraction, entrepreneurship and investment, showing how the administration has used formal regional partnerships to maintain business ties between trade missions.
The sector choices reflect the similarities the partners say they see in their economies: strong manufacturing and food-production bases, established research universities and growing work in biohealth and energy innovation. That overlap gives the organizations a defined starting point, but it also means the public should judge the agreement by measurable follow-through rather than the breadth of its four priority labels.
There is already one working relationship behind the new French agreement. After the 2025 visit, the Agence Économique Régionale established a formal connection with Wisconsin-based BioForward, and agency representatives attended BioForward’s annual summits in 2025 and 2026. State officials now want to extend that model beyond biotherapies to food, energy and manufacturing.
The next test comes in October, when Bourgogne-Franche-Comté President Jérôme Durain plans to lead a delegation to Wisconsin. Reporting from the French region says the visit will initially emphasize biotherapies and agri-food, with a stated goal of putting concrete projects on the table.
For Wisconsin businesses and universities, the memorandum does not create a new application deadline or automatic benefit. Its value will depend on whether WEDC and the French agency turn introductions into research collaborations, export relationships or investment. The October delegation should provide the first public indication of which organizations participate and whether the agreement produces defined projects, timelines or financial commitments.
