Jérôme Rouve, former president of the CCI: “We, the people of South Aveyron, don't know how to sell the viaduct”

Vendre le viaduc et avec lui une destination : il y a encore du travail, estime Jérôme Rouve. FRANCOIS CELIE

He was president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 2001 to 2011. He had a front row seat to experience the construction site, the challenge of the Millau viaduct and the measures launched. And he is not gentle, twenty years after the inauguration of the bridge.

20 years ago, “people only talked about Millau, it was great”, remembers Jérôme Rouve. M. ESDOURRUBAILH

You were president of the CCI of South Aveyron during the construction, from 2001. What memories do you have of the viaduct??

I always believed in it. Some shopkeepers didn't believe in it, they were afraid. The business community understood that it was a chance when we saw the buses, the queues on Sundays.

We organized the Telethon in Millau, just after the bridge opened to traffic. There were loads of people. The restaurateurs couldn't serve everyone who wanted to eat. People only talked about Millau, it was the best.

The viaduct is just as beautiful twenty years later, even if I have some regrets…

Which ones?

We lost time and the time we lost, in the business world, you can't make up for it. Childish nonsense about the development of the tracks, the viaduct support plan, the activity zones.

Jean Puech (ex-president of the Department, Editor's note) hurt us, he was jealous of Jacques Godfrain (the deputy mayor of Millau, Editor's note), he wanted an economic zone in La Cavalerie reserved for companies from outside Aveyron. It was necessary to create another one opposite for local companies.

The enthusiasm has gradually died down. We, the people of South Aveyron, don't know how to sell the viaduct. We would have to convince people better of our peace and quiet, of the fact that it is less hot than at Cap d'Agde, that we have the Tarn gorges, Roquefort…

Pierre Carayon, who ran the hotel-restaurant in Saint-Sernin, believed in it right away. He believed in it more than the people of Millau, he gave tours of the viaduct with coaches.

The tourism industry where you stand in front of the door and wait for the customer is over. A product must be brought to life. There was no one to train it. I am not throwing stones at anyone, we are all collectively at fault. I am not saying that everything is negative, but we could have made things worse.

It's true that Eiffage doesn't give enough money to South Aveyron, but you reap what you sow. To receive, you have to know how to give, how to sell yourself.

Are you proud of a particular success??

The greatest success was the Louisiane company, which set up in La Cavalerie in 2002. The very day after I was elected president of the CCI, someone called me. I thought it was a joke. It was a Breton, Louis Danno, who said he wanted to settle in Aveyron: he came to sell his mobile homes at the Millau campsite and he slept at the International Hotel. We met there. I went there with the mayor of La Cavalerie, Robert Muret. Danno wanted a dynamic mayor, it had to go quickly. Nine months later, the factory was done! The sub-prefect of Millau Henri Planes facilitated the installation, as did the prefect Chantal Jourdan for the entire time she was there.

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