France Luxembourg

Introduction

The border between France and Luxembourg, which is 73 kilometers long, is a melting-pot border (lack of natural obstacles) with great permeability. It is crossed by numerous flows within highly urbanized and dense areas. In 2023, there were 222,380 cross-border workers originating from the neighboring regions, about half of whom come from France (53.7%) and roughly a quarter from Germany and Belgium (23.3% and 23.0%, respectively) (Source IBA/OIE). Cooperation on this border is notably characterized by the multiplicity of scales and actors involved. Legally, it takes place within the framework of the Karlsruhe Agreement, which applies to France, Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.

While there are specific areas of cooperation at the border, such as the France-Luxembourg Intergovernmental Commission, cooperation mainly takes place within the broader Greater Region, which includes Wallonia and some German Länder. Projects carried out in this area can be supported by the Interreg “Greater Region” program. Historically structured around the European Development Hub (PED), cross-border cooperation between France and Luxembourg has long struggled to further organize itself, as Luxembourg became the main center of attraction and employment for northern Lorraine. Nonetheless, in recent years, several structures or initiatives have emerged:

• The Frontal Metropolitan Hub of Northern Lorraine is a consultation structure aimed at strengthening the identity of the northern Lorraine region both nationally and across its borders, and at improving cross-border cooperation in areas such as mobility, health, and higher education, among others.
• The Alzette Belval cross-border urban area places cross-border cooperation at the heart of its public policies, with the redevelopment of the Belval site in Luxembourg, a former steel wasteland, into a major tertiary hub serving as its flagship project and starting point. The EGTC Alzette-Belval, created in 2013, encourages the systematic consideration of cross-border factors in policies and actions carried out on both sides of the border. The Alzette Belval IBA, led by the EGTC Alzette-Belval, provides an additional and unique means of structuring this cross-border urban area and integrating both common architectural and urban planning projects, as well as projects located on either side of the border.

In addition to planning, other important areas of cooperation concern, for example, transportation (the opening of numerous cross-border routes), employment, research, and higher education.

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