Living in France and working abroad - a situation on the rise

Living in France while working in a neighbouring country is becoming more common. The leading two destinations are Switzerland and Luxembourg. In 2011, 353,000 French residents declared being in this situation, an increase of 42% compared to 1999. Travel was polarised around five large agglomerations. Each agglomeration has a particular role in the French economy and the characteristics of their commuters are very different. The Geneva agglomeration receives 88,000 commuters, including a significant portion of managers and graduates. The situation is very different in Saarbrucken and Belgium where it is predominantly manual labourers and workers with few qualifications. In Luxembourg, employees are more numerous. Wage differences and the language spoken in the destination country also play a role in the characteristics of the workforce.