Christophe Rivenq, President of Alès Agglo: “Companies operate thanks to local authorities”

Business leaders and elected officials filled the Myriapole lecture hall. Midi Libre – F. A.

More than 150 bosses, elected officials, and bankers attended the Gard entreprise economic back-to-school meeting this Thursday morning.

The Myriapole lecture hall is full. More than 150 business leaders, elected officials, bankers, and partners attended the traditional Gard entreprise back-to-school meeting this Thursday morning.

For this takeover, Jean-Pierre De Faria, the president of the association, left it to Christophe Rivenq, president of Alès Agglo, to deliver his analysis of the local economic situation and present the development prospects of the agglomeration.

“The economic fabric of the basin is holding up”

“The Alès basin has been rebuilt around industry. We have been making this choice of regional development with Max Roustan for 30 years. This is the strategic choice that we have implemented. Today, and unlike other territories, our economic fabric is holding up, despite the difficulties that all entrepreneurs encounter."

The elected official described the tense financial context desired by the European authorities, “We are facing a wall with Europe”, then looked at national news with “a country that is sailing blind, that has no captain. Well, at the same time we all know that it is not the ministers who are in charge, but the civil servants. This poses a problem for democracy."

"Decentralization and regional planning need to be reviewed"

Christophe Rivenq continued his presentation on the state of affairs in the urban area before addressing the issue of debt. “I get angry when people tell me that we pay too much tax in Alès. I would like to remind you that local taxes only represent 3% of our revenue. The debt ? It is 450 euros per inhabitant in Alès Agglo. Debt is necessary to be able to invest and develop. In France, local authorities function well and are well managed. They are the ones who provide more than 70% of public investments, compared to 30% for the State. Without local authorities, businesses could not operate."

Access to credit, land and recruitment are daily concerns of the president of the agglomeration: "Decentralization and regional planning need to be reviewed. The allocations concern large cities, but 80% of the population lives in areas that are excluded from investment. We still have 12% unemployment, but businesses are still struggling to recruit! We are taking action on vocational training, but we need to know the needs of businesses."

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