Haute-Savoie (pronounced [ot savwa] ⓘ)[a] is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy.

To the north is Lake Geneva; to the south and southeast are Mont Blanc and the Aravis mountain range.

The territory occupied by modern Haute-Savoie and the adjoining department of Savoie became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

The Maquis des Glières (a band of Free French Resistance fighters who opposed the Nazi, Vichy and Milice regimes during World War II) operated from Haute-Savoie.

Management is charged to local organizations, with direction and evaluation focusing on long-term protection for future generations and environmental education.

Dairy production is a large part of the Haute-Savoie economy, earning €117.2 million in 2006 and representing 74 percent of the net animal-product worth.

[11]: 8  Cheese production (by variety) in 1999 (except as noted) was: In late 2000 crafts occupied 15 percent of the workforce, or 28,443 employees and 1,922 apprentices.

The 11,951 companies represented on the Répertoire des Métiers (Trade Index) were divided into: In late December 2000, building construction and public works included 13,867 employees in 4,838 companies as follows: In late December 2000, the trade sector accounted for 33,994 employees in 9,351 companies as follows: In late 2006, the département had 600 commercial establishments in over 300 square metres (3,200 sq ft) (for a total area of 705,419 square metres (7,593,070 sq ft)), including: From 1998 to 2005, 65 new supermarkets were built for an area totaling 50,000 square metres (540,000 sq ft).

While the automotive industry is the principal client, firms also service the electronics, household-appliance and medical sectors.

The cluster is dedicated to mechatronics and includes 60,000 industrial jobs in over 280 companies (primarily small), 1,200 researchers and 250 patents in 2002.

Among the projects supported by the cluster is inertial tolerancing, a new approach in evaluating the quality of machined parts.

It is led by a research team from the Symme Laboratory of the University of Savoie and the CTDEC (Centre Technique du Decolletage).

Markets served by member companies of the cluster include transport (cars, trucks, rail and air), production and distribution of electricity, hydraulics (gas or liquid, high-pressure vacuum), medical and health-related.

Many people who live in Haute-Savoie (more than 52,200 in November 2006) work in Switzerland (in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Valais).

[citation needed] The phenomenon has accelerated since bilateral agreements concluded between Switzerland and the European Union,[when?]

Meythet Airport in Annecy has Air France Regional round-trip service to Paris Orly.

The Annecy railway station has TGV (high speed trains) departures and arrivals to and from Paris via the high-speed line from Lyon Part-Dieu.