Paris aims to put London and Silicon Valley in the shade with digital plan "Paris is a magical city that attracts people from all over the world and where a real energy is building up around the digital world," he told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper. But young companies who want to set up here lack cheap, practical spaces equipped with broadband and shared services. In November, France's 10th richest man will also open a tuition-free developer school in Paris called 42, in reference to science fiction author Douglas Adam's book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which 42 is the answer to "life, the universe and everything." For the incubator, he has personally stumped up a reported €120m in buying, restoring and equipping the building, but said he was "not in this for glory or the money." "My idea is to set off a chain reaction [of digital innovation]," he said. The Caisse des Depots et Consignations - a state bank created after the Napoleonic wars to get France back on its feet with safe investments - has invested a further €10m into the venture. The ambitious complex will contain a "start-up space," gardens, a "fab lab," a "digital library for the third millennium," an auditorium and covered public gallery, as well as two floors of offices for three to six people. A round-the-clock bar-restaurant will be a "place for meeting, exchange and freedom," said Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the architect. "Paris is a digital city, the most innovative capital in Europe," claimed Mr Wilmotte. "In terms of capacity and modularity, this unique location will be well above what is being done in London, Silicon Valley or in Israel," he added. Formerly owned by national rail operator SNCF, it is located by the rail track leading to Paris" Austerlitz train station. "The city of Paris will take charge of the surrounding public areas, routes linking the top and bottom of the 13th arrondissement and social housing and shops around the hall," said Mr Missika. "From a communication point of view, it's a tool that could be very useful for international investors," said Jean-David Chamboredon , head of capital risk fund Isai, which invests in web start-ups. "London does it very well and it's a good thing that Paris is trying to compete with the same weapons," he told Reuters. The incubator is the first venture in a €200m national programme to create around 15 other "digital districts." Construction will begin next June and last two years.