This paper investigates the determinants of business start-ups in the 22 French regions, considering four different sectors (industry, real estate, trade and services) over 1995–2004. The main innovation of the paper was to analyze regional differences in the decision to start a new business on a sector basis. Using spatial statistics and dynamic panel data methods, we estimate spatial regimes models. First, we show that regional factors determining new firm start-ups differ between sectors. Second, the estimation results are consistent with the existence of spatial heterogeneity. Finally, we observe persistence in start-up rates.