For the 12th Economic and Territorial Meetings organized this year via videoconference by the UPE06 (Union Pour l’Entreprise), the focus was on a recovery plan. With the health crisis affecting all national and international economic actors, compounded by climatic events impacting the department, it is already necessary to think about getting back on track.
“The future will rely on investment,” as stated several months ago by the president of the Metropolis, Christian Estrosi. Present yesterday at a new edition of the Economic and Territorial Meetings, along with Jean-Pierre Savarino, president of the Nice Côte d’Azur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the discussion revolved around both actions taken to date (sometimes jointly) and plans for a more or less long-term future.
Since the beginning of the lockdown, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) has played an important local role in the recovery plan desired by the Government. Whether it is by supporting SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) or VSEs (Very Small Enterprises) through enhanced listening and comprehensive support, this public institution has become an essential player for our companies, helping them overcome difficulties. Telephone platforms, assistance with business digitalization, particularly for implementing telework (Digital SOS for commerce), creation of initiatives like “Booster Commerce” with the Metropolis, and tools to facilitate connections between SMEs-VSEs and public and private contractors, such as “La Place du Business,” are all being developed to foster collaboration and mutual assistance among companies. “A lot of actions are being taken in our department. We are trying to support our companies across all these territories so they can operate in the future,” explains Jean-Pierre Savarino. “One day we will overcome these daily challenges, and we must be prepared to develop and have a favorable environment in our region of the Alpes-Maritimes.”
“Aid” as the key word
Whether for the victims of storm Alex or those imprisoned by the COVID crisis, everyone needs help. Be it to rebuild a factory destroyed by climatic events or to find partners to relaunch their activities, all these precarious cases are at the center of concerns. Emergency plans have already been deployed to address the immediate need, and others will follow, as the battle will be long.
“We are currently in a phase where we fear an extremely complicated exit from this lockdown, with an economic and social crisis that could prove terrifying. At the same time, recalling the crisis of 2008, our region has always been able to seize such periods to capitalize on a number of opportunities and rebound better,” recalls Christian Estrosi. It is now a major challenge to provide economic support to the populations. We must therefore use our strengths to steer the ship, which is slowly being submerged by the waves.
Addressing the various economic decision-makers present in the audience, the mayor of Nice specifies, “We have a new landscape in our country. Growth in France can predominantly restart only through territorial policies. This landscape can be extremely favorable to our region.” For the president of the Metropolis, this means developing future energies, mobility, real estate… “Some have chosen degrowth, but I claim that we are growth ecologists,” he adds, referring to large-scale “green” projects coming from decision-makers seeking new terrains to develop their activities.
A way to try to stay afloat by thinking long-term.
