Crisis in construction: the prefect of Hérault intends to help operations exit more quickly

La création de logements neufs, essentielle pour la filière du bâtiment. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

Prefect François-Xavier Lauch was the guest of the French building federation of Hérault this Thursday. He says he is ready to use his power to accelerate the start of construction operations in order to limit the recession that the sector is facing.

The figures are clear: with a drop in housing starts of 19.4% in Hérault in 2023, and 12.5% ​​for non-residential buildings, the construction sector has entered a deep crisis. That the two or three year outlook, fueled by promoters' forecasts, does not shed any light. 

Faced with this worrying situation, the prefect of Hérault, François-Xavier Lauch intends to use his prerogatives and influence to try to reverse these trends. &amp ;quot;I am concerned about what is happening in this department. In Hérault the situation is special because each year we welcome 15,000 people" he indicated this Thursday, during a meeting with the players in the sector brought together by the department's Building Federation. 

According to his analysis, a "double wall" presents itself: "the even greater difficulty for people to find housing, without talking exclusively about social housing. And the economic health of construction companies. Who says a clear reduction in activity, says, behind it, a sector in economic difficulty. This is a real topic." 

A list of operations to launch quickly

In search of solutions "practical", François-Xavier Lauch intends to raise awareness on a national scale proposals for relaxing the rules that may be made by the profession. But it also intends to weigh "concretely" and more locally. "We have a certain number of major operations involving hundreds of homes. A curated list of high-stakes operations could be established. That I can have a meeting with the banks and that, in my influential role, I can tell them « It’s time to go. I ask them to move the cursor a little". "As actors, we have conditions that are sometimes too rigid from the banks. This is a role of influence that can have considerable weight" appreciates Céline Torrès, from the habitat division of the FFB 34. 

At the same time, the State services and the communities concerned should quickly come together around the table. "To try to facilitate certain operations and to make it go faster. Let's move from financing to shoveling" summarizes François-Xavier Lauch. One of the ideas is also to try to limit the processing time for disputes that may accompany these operations. "We can mobilize on operations ready to go. It’is a question of survival for the sector" he adds.

For the entire sector, time is running out. If nothing is done quickly, the impact could be felt in companies as early as September with, according to Gilbert Comos, the president of the FFB34, between 2,500 and 3,000 jobs at stake. "Already business failures in our sector have jumped by 62.5% in 2023" recalls the manager, i.e. 286 bankruptcies recorded. "We currently have a relay of public procurement with a high school and colleges. These operations are not recurring. What drives our business is really new housing" insists Gilbert Comos.

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