Arc Manche

Arc Manche (French: arc, "arch"; and La Manche, "the English Channel") is a co-operation network aiming to gather territories bordering the Channel in France and in Great Britain, to advocate the shared interests of this area and to promote Franco-British co-operation. It enables local stakeholders to share best practices and to consult each other when they face common issues, especially in the maritime area. This network is also a means to support large scale bi-national projects that may benefit from European funds, such as CAMIS.

The Channel Arc Assembly is currently chaired by the Haute-Normandie region.

The English Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, primarily because of its strategic location as the entry/exit door to the European Union. It links the Atlantic Ocean with the North Sea, which generates considerable flows in people and goods, and makes it one of the main exchange zones in Europe.

It engenders a concentration of maritime opportunities, but also risks, which explains the co-operation between French and British local authorities in areas like maritime security, marine pollution prevention or the preservation of biodiversity.

This area is 112,519 sqm. Large, including the 530 islands it encompasses.

The area's total population was 17,503,211 inhabitants in 2002, of which 5,445,000 resided in the United Kingdom and 12,058,211 in France. The population density at this time was 212,1175 inhabitants per sqm.

Total GDP (1998–2000) : 364,829 million Euros

GDP per capita (1998–2000) : 20,395 Euros

The economic structure of the area is heterogeneous. The North of France is a highly industrialised area, whereas the rich South East of England mostly relies on high tech services and the tourism sector. In France and Great Britain, the most western part of the area has a more rural economy relying on agriculture and tourism: Britanny, Lower Normandy, Cornwall. Fishing is also, in some parts of the area, an important activity. There are 18 maritime quarters and 50 important fishing ports in the area.

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