Operational in major cities such as Paris, Toulouse, Lille, and Marseille, the “Companies and Neighborhoods” charter has just been strengthened with the signing of around forty new companies, on Thursday, June 11, in Nice, in the presence of Adolphe Colrat, the prefect of Alpes-Maritimes.
The project was launched in March 2013 in the city of Nice, modeled after its predecessors in France. It aims to develop the economic, cultural, and social domains of Sensitive Urban Zones (ZUS) and is based on findings from various reports by the National Observatory of Sensitive Urban Areas (ONZUS). These reports highlight a poverty rate three times higher than in the rest of the country, a concerning situation in terms of activity, employment, and unemployment (two and a half times higher), more uncertain and precarious educational paths, and too frequent avoidance of healthcare…
The themes in which companies are committed include:
– education and school orientation
– employment, integration, training
– economic development
– access to products and services for the most vulnerable customers
– support for local initiatives and solidarity sponsorship
This first agreement in 2013 was accompanied by a desire to sustain and strengthen the system over the following two years, with the goal of doubling the number of companies engaged in the “Companies and Neighborhoods” charter. This has now been achieved with the signing of large companies such as Bouygues, Adecco, BNP Paribas, EDF, La Poste, as well as smaller ones like Job Intérim, Resistex, Webelse, and La Canne à Sucre, a restaurant on the Promenade des Anglais.
“Preventing the worker’s son from also inevitably becoming a worker.”
That is the mindset advocated by Alain Ménardi, former director of the Lapeyre store in Nice and now head of the association 100 Chances 100 Emplois, when he explains their collaboration in the project. The business networks CREPI and IMS-Entreprendre pour la cité are also cooperating at both national and local levels to provide their support and contacts and to mobilize local SMEs. IMS has notably produced a practical guide distributed to all signatories, entitled “How can companies facilitate access to employment for neighborhood residents?”
Monitoring, evaluation, and promotion of good practices have also been implemented, occurring once a year, to regularly improve the effectiveness of this socio-economic program.
