U.S. Consulate a.i. Lyon

Notice

U.S. citizen services are not provided in Lyon except during off-site consular services days.

Lyon

U.S. Consulate

Overview

AMERICAN PRESENCE POST IN LYON

The American Presence Post in Lyon is pleased to welcome you to its website! Established in 1999 in the city of Lyon, we aim at building a greater understanding of the United States of America and at expanding the historic ties of friendship between our two nations.

CONSULAR DISTRICT

The APP Lyon covers both the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté regions.

OUR MISSIONS

PROMOTING U. S. BUSINESSES
The APP in Lyon represents 25% of France geographically and covers its leading industrial and manufacturing regions. The United States play a significant role as an employer, with over 800 U.S. businesses located in the consular district, as well as an exporter to the region. The post actively promotes transatlantic investments, working with the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service on events, engaging with local chambers of commerce, and supporting trade fairs and delegations in the region to increase American exportations.

EXPLAINING U. S. POLICIES, SOCIETY AND CULTURE
The APP team frequently conducts outreach by giving speeches, presentations, and arranging expert speaker programs to explain U.S. policy, government, society, history, values, culture and economy. The APP administers the full range of government exchanges, such as Fulbright, the International Visitor Leadership Program, the Women to Women program, and the Youth Ambassadors Program. A key element of the APP’s public diplomacy outreach is the promotion of cultural, scientific, economical, sport and academic partnerships. In order to do so, the American Presence Post has a grant program. We also collaborate with the American Corner in Grenoble, housed by the International House of Grenoble and unique to France, in furtherance of this mission.

IMPORTANT

VISAS
The American Presence Post in Lyon does not provide visas to French citizens. All questions related to visas to the United States should be referred to the American Embassy Visa Services in Paris.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
The office is closed on French and American holidays.

U. S. CITIZEN SERVICES
The American Presence Posts in France do not provide U.S. Citizen services. Please refer to these Embassy website pages for information on all U.S. Citizen Services provided in France.

OUR CONSUL, LYON

Richard Johns

Richard Johns commenced his duties as U.S. Consul in Lyon in August 2022.

Complete Biography

Consular District

The American Presence Post in Lyon’s consular district comprises both the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (AURA) and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (BFC) regions. Geographically speaking, it represents almost 25% of France, with an estimated 11 million people (more than 16% of France’s total population) larger than the total population of nearby Switzerland. Two important mountain ranges are found in the region: the Auvergne volcanoes and the Alps.

AUVERGNE-RHÔNE-ALPES

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes borders Italy and Switzerland. and as an important European economic crossroads, is France’s manufacturing and industrial regional leader. Its capital city, Lyon, is France’s second largest metropole and commercial center. The region benefits from the presence of top universities and trade schools, research and technology centers as well as industrial centers. Lyon has the largest number of university students in France after Paris. It ranks first in energy production and second in chemicals, mechanical construction, and the electrical industry. Pharmaceuticals, biotechnologies, information technologies, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnologies are also large economic sectors. The United States is the largest foreign investor in the region with over 800 majority U.S.-owned companies creating over 40,000 jobs!

Lyon is France’s capital of gastronomy. French chef Paul Bocuse opened his first culinary school in Lyon and it is host to the Bocuse d’Or, the world chef championship. It is also the city of the Lumière Brothers, who invented and developed the film industry; the yearly “Lumiere festival”, pays tribute to this legacy through a two-week long international classics film festival.

International institutions such as INTERPOL, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and training center, and Euronews are headquartered in Lyon. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region has a sister region/state relationship with Pennsylvania and a formal sister city relationship with St. Louis, Missouri.

Grenoble, Saint-Etienne, and Clermont-Ferrand are the largest cities in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region outside of Lyon. Grenoble’s world-class research institutes, high-technology industrial bases, world-known mountain sport industries, international campuses and plentiful suppliers have attracted as much U. S. investment (ranked first in the city) and American citizen residents as Lyon, even though it is half its size. Caterpillar, Becton Dickinson, Hewlett-Packard, Tyco, and Oracle are just a few of the firms present. Grenoble has an active sister city relationship with Phoenix (Arizona) and celebrates in 2022 its nomination as « Green European Capital City » for its numerous initiatives for the preservation and improvement of our environment.

Clermont-Ferrand is the fourth largest city in the region and the capital city of the former Auvergne Region. The Michelin firm headquarters are in CF, as well as their innovations and test tracks. Merck has a manufacturing plant in the city, and Dunlop invests in the north of the region. Clermont-Ferrand has a sister city relationship with Norman, Oklahoma.

Major symbol of the Franco-American friendship, the Château de Chavaniac-Lafayette also belongs to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

BOURGOGNE-FRANCHE-COMTÉ

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, with a population of 2.8 millions inhabitants, specializes in agricultural products such as wine, Dijon mustard, and a variety of cheeses, all of which are popular exports to the United States. Manufacturers such as GE Power, John Deere, Peugeot, and Alstom have strong presences in the former Franche-Comté region. Dijon, which has a sister city relationship with Dallas, is the region’s capital. The city of Besançon is sister-city of Charlottesville in Virginia State.

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is the region of France with the most sites listed as UNESCO world heritage. The Region’s gastronomy is enjoyed and rewarded. The international gastronomy and wine center in Dijon is a cultural project based on the French gastronomic meal, listed as world immaterial heritage. .

The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region is home to a strong industry and companies recognized around the world. It is also sought after for its traditional know-how and recognized for the food industry and agriculture.