R É A L I T É S

FOR OUR ENGLISH-SPEAKING READERSCREATING JOBS IN THE REGIONSOF FRANCEEditorialPierre CouveinhesIntroductionClaude TrinkIndustry’s new financial tools and their application in the Nord-Pasde Calais RegionFrançois YoyotteSince the autumn of 2008, the recession has led the Frenchgovernment to design new tools for intervening in favor of thecountry’s productive sector, especially manufacturing. How arethese tools appropriated and used at the regional level? Followinga description of the Nord-Pas de Calais Region and its system ofsupport for economic development, light is shed on the waysthese new financial tools are being put to use.The Industry Forum (Etats généraux de l’Industrie), a catalyst forLorraineEric PierratIn Lorraine, the Industry Forum was warmly welcomed.How Oise Department is coping with de-industrializationClaude TrinkOise has been hit by plant closings. How is this department inPicardy coping with this loss of industry? Who are thestakeholders in local economic development? What means arebeing used? What part have the officials in charge ofindustrialization played?The successful revitalization of Ille-et-Vilaine Department, westernFranceJacques GarauThe government commissioner for reindustrialization providesengineering services to firms and local authorities with the aim ofpreserving or creating jobs. Owing to his role as an interfacebetween companies, labor representatives, elected officials andthe state, this commissioner is able to focus know-how onmassive, concomitant interventions for the sake of making localindustry more competitive.Restructuring industry in the Arve ValleyGérard CascinoThe Arve Valley in the Alps is the center of the French nuts-andboltindustry. The 2008 recession has brought its business model,based on a growing volume of production, under question.Demand has fallen, and will stay low. To rise above this situationmeans adopting a systemic approach with a wide range of actionsfor handling questions related to the business cycle (e.g., access tofunds) and to structural issues, such as the diversification ofproducts in the value chain, the need to develop an effectivesynergy between firms so as to move beyond individualism, andthe redefinition of the classical relation between firms andsubcontractors in terms of a “coopetition” (a mixture ofcompetition and cooperation).The successful reconversion of a firm in Franche-Comtéto wind powerGilles CassottiAfter many an episode (successive buyouts, bankruptcy,etc.), Franc-Comtoise Industrie was taken over, on19 February 2010, by Alizeo, a windmill manufacturer,with the aim of having it make the bases for installingfolding wind turbines. This is a new challenge for theemployees of this company in Lons-le-Saunier (JuraDepartment) as it becomes involved in the adventure ofproducing wind power fifty years after having acquiredexperience in nuclear power, chemistry andpetrochemistry.Restructuring the paper industryPascal Clément, Jean-Jacques Bordeset Dominique LachenalThe French paper industry undergoes, at times,major technological changes and encounters stiffcompetition worldwide. All this leads to restructuringFrench plants with the goal of improving theircompetitive edge and diversifying. Through the caseof a paper plant located in Alizay (Eure Department),we catch sight of the opportunities opened byadopting a new “green chemistry” strategy forproducing biofuels from wood fiber cellulose (a secondgenerationbioethanol technology) and making chemicals(viscose) from wood pulp. This strategic reorientation is fullycompatible with maintaining or even developing the productionof wood pulp. It represents a major outlet for the French forestindustry.Higher education and research, an issue in the economic battle beingwaged in the regions of FranceDaniel Fixari and Frédérique Pallez“Revitalizing” a local area means both reacting immediately to acrisis by shutting down plants and boosting a redevelopmentbased on the local area’s assets so as to create jobs. We understandwhy revitalization must enter into a genuine strategy of territorialdevelopment in order to ensure its coherence and solidity. Intoday’s “knowledge economy”, the system of higher educationand research is being assigned a role in reaching these objectives.Platforms of innovation: A competitive edge for local areasRomain Beaume and Vincent SusplugasThe “platforms of innovation” are a major lever ofcompetitiveness. They offer to members of a “competitive pole”(high-technology cluster) access to shared resources (equipment,personnel and services). These platforms are the first phase inestablishing an ecosystem involving the three pillars ofcompetitive poles: firms, research organizations and institutionsof higher education.Prospects of foreign investments in FranceGilles Le BlancFor local areas, investment trends are rightly considered to be adecisive factor in the prospects for economic growth and thecreation (or preservation) of jobs. For firms, their own efforts interms of both material and immaterial investments are anecessary condition for improving efficiency in production,developing innovations, setting up operations abroad andRÉSUMÉS ÉTRANGERSRÉALITÉS INDUSTRIELLES • AOÛT 2010 85