Special Assemblies: a strategy for the future

6th stage  Lyon: industry in the spotlight

On 18 September 2008, crowds gathered at the European School of Management in Lyon – the venue for the sixth stage of the French CCI Special Assembly. Some 800 people gathered at the business school to hear different analyses on the theme of “the challenges of industry”. The upshot of the day: though under-exploited, the sector has a major potential, especially thanks to the input of R&D. The president of the Assembly of French Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ACFCI) regretted the overriding defeatism. “I am a business man working in favour of industry,” declared Jean-François Bernardin, adding that he was “troubled by talk” imbued with the “resignation of (notably Parisian) elected leaders” on the state of French industry. The choice of the Rhône-Alpes region as organising host of the event was obviously not accidental. As the second-largest industrial region in France and representing 500,000 jobs, it is home to significant sectorial diversity and fifteen competitiveness poles. “Industrial tradition is important here. The Rhône-Alpes is the world’s foremost region for nuclear production, it is the cradle of the chemistry sector and a breeding ground of grey matter,” points out Jean-Pierre Mauduy, President of the Rhône-Alpes Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CRCI). Anne Lauvergeon, President of the Areva energy group was invited to the event to illustrate French industrial potential, and event organisers were not disappointed by her presentation. “The emergence of so-called developing countries has placed industry squarely back into centre position,” considers one of the world’s largest employers which creates 1,000 jobs each month. “In recent years, many players have pointed students towards two other sectors: Internet and finance. Nevertheless, we can currently see that as far as the second is concerned, young people would do well to rethink their options.”

By Cécilia Dubé

7th stage  Dole: a Copernican revolution

Almost 500 company heads gathered at the La Commanderie concert venue in Dole on 6 October 2008. Organised jointly by the CCIs of Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté and Lorraine, this seventh stage was above all an occasion to soften the discourse on Chamber reform. Given the reform’s “clash with the calendar for the Révision Générale des Politiques Publiques (General Revision of Public Policies)”, Jean-François Bernadin advocates “stepping up the speed”, adding that it was “impossible to tell local authorities called to act that the network, for its part, would make no moves”. Contrary to what was said in previous stages, it therefore seems that we are now coming closer to a strategy on a regional level. “This is about the overthrow of the system,” confirms Bernard Legendre, Deputy Managing Director of the Assembly of French CCIs (ACFCI). “Local piloting is going to turn into regional piloting. A double vote on the same day will allow leaders to be elected on a local level, as well as leaders with a double mandate, both regional and local. The budget is also going to be regionalised.” As for the theme of the day, competitive intelligence (CI), a round table drew together Alain Juillet, Senior Director in charge of CI for the French Prime Minister, and a number of company directors. Certain best practices of the CCIs present – far from coordinated in their approach – were put forward, such as the sectorial platforms of the CCI of Colmar or the collaborative online platform Ecobiz of the CCI of the Ardennes region. As far as companies go, the testimony of the head of the Noremat company in Lorraine is noteworthy. With one employee dedicated to CI in his company, Jacques Bauchmann has seen activity take off, raising staff numbers from 100 to 170. “CI allows the development of a business strategy, inspired by military strategy. Through practices, sometimes very simple, we make savings in time and improve our communication.”

By Laureen Melka

8th stage  Arles: globalisation of the economy

On 16 October, the Palais des Congrès in Arles played host to the stage dedicated to the “globalisation of the economy”. Punctuated by commentaries from Pascal Boniface, Director of the IRIS (Institute for International and Strategic Relations), presentations in particular advocated the will of the government and Chambers to improve export services. Once again, Anne-Marie Idrac, the Secretary of State in charge of Foreign Trade, congratulated herself on the reform of public support measures for export, emphasising the “unhoped for credits” to which public agency Ubifrance will have access in 2009. Christophe Lecourtier, Managing Director of the latter and Pierre-Antoine Gailly, President of the Union of French CCIs Abroad (UCCIFE) moreover reminded attendees of the vocations of their respective networks and the future on-the-ground complementariness of economic missions and overseas French CCIs – five agreements should be signed in coming months. The Regional Chambers of PACA (Provence–Alpes – Côte d’Azur) – Corsica and Languedoc-Roussillon, hosts of the event, drew attention to their common work on several international operations, an “inter-regionality” later hailed by the President of the Assembly of French Chambers of commerce and Industry (ACFCI), Jean-François Bernardin. “We have begun discussions with the Chambers of Liguria, Piedmont, Catalonia and PACA – Corsica to work together in several domains including competitive intelligence, innovation and infrastructures,” explains the Manager for Economic and Territorial Development at the Regional CCI of Languedoc-Roussillon, Jean-Marc Guillelmet. “The Euro-Mediterranean arc offers considerable opportunities,” he rejoices. Moreover, the Chamber intends to pool the international services of its local CCIs. “Advisers will remain on their territory and keep their specialties, but they will depend on the Regional CCI,” indicates its President Serge Clausse.

By Cécilia Dubé