Franche-Comté

   Largely hilly or mountainous region in central eastern France, just north of Switzerland. Capital Besançon. Franche-Comté is made up of four departments, the Haute-Saône in the north, the Jura in the southwest, the Doubs in the centre, and the small Territoire de Belfort in the north. At the end of the 20th century, it was the region with the highest proportion of the population employed in industry; this was due to its position as a largely rural region, with a low population density, containing one major industrial connurbation, the Belfort-Montbeliard area - home to two large industrial companies, Peugeot and Alstom, and to many smaller industrial companies. Today, apart from Peugeot cars and TGVs, the region is renowned for its dairy products and small components .