There is not enough evidence to innovation

January 30, 2012 12:00 AM

This fall, cranes and loaders are at le Mans the appearance of a vast construction site, disturbing the peace and quiet of the City-prefecture of 69.000 inhabitants, third urban pole of the Pays de la Loire. Jean-Claude Boulard, the Socialist Mayor, wants to finish his term on an urban scale mutation. "Ask any change, defending the person." Must be wary of modes and conserve individual habitat, these mancelles that characterize our city. "President of the urban community since 1983, the man succeeded in 2001 Communist Robert Jarry, tenant of city for a quarter of a century. Therefore, almost simultaneously, he hired all the great work in gestation for many years, giving the sarthois capital an impression of renaissance after decades of torpor.

The thread is the tram, a 15.5 kilometres, with a branch line to the popular les Sablons district, which also will be a program of renovation of 147,4 million euros. In one year, the first consists of a bright orange link in thirty-four minutes the University of Maine, ample space to urbanization in the Northwest of the city, Antares to the South, district of the circuit for the 24 hours of le Mans and a future pole of clinics. This axis (an investment of EUR 290 million) to change the face of downtown with the redevelopment of the square of the Republic to the agora the city deserves.

A low right-wing opposition

The passage of the tramway amends also headquarters of the railway station, with the creation of a multimodal esplanade with a cost of EUR 49.6 million and especially an important tertiary pole. South of the railway right-of-way, Novaxys will increase from 65,000 to 100,000 m2 in two years with the implementation of the headquarters of MMA, ex-Mutuelles of le Mans, MAAF and Azur GMF insurance and a building for the XL Re reinsurance company. This program supports a rich set of 70 companies, including the GIE Sesam-Vitale. "The TGV, which puts us within an hour of Paris remains a formidable lever for development", exposes Jean-Claude Boulard, embodying the combat of elected officials and concerned sarthois economic circles to the idea that their service may be affected by the implementation of the future line (LGV West) speed filera to Brittany.

These sites tend to strengthen the grip of the aedile first. If the extent of the work is sometimes grind, the urban project is generally accepted. "It is an evil for a good, the city must go this route," summarizes Bernard Warain, President of the ICC. The head of a majority of rather heterogeneous left, Mayor was able to gather. This former Councillor of State, which has already announced his candidacy for a second term, gets most of the projects the decisive support of the Department, held by the UMP Roland du Luart. The municipal opposition is even less virulent that it has no leader said since the MP Jean-Marie Geveaux failure in 2001.

The municipal Council, Véronique Rivron or counsel Alain Pigeau occupy the land, but sarthoise right dream of a candidature of François Fillon, undisputed leader of the UMP in the Department, perspective of the riskier after his resounding to the regional. The sarthois Senator simply "coaching" the opposition and found that the first magistrate sites are not sufficiently ambitious. "There is not enough evidence to innovation." A city that has such deficit image and urban planning to pay significant architectural choices. Similarly, it lacks a true economic development strategy.

The person is present in the world economy through a club of Heads of local business and Créapolis, centre dedicated to the design and innovative companies. He is not reluctant to provide community assistance to industrial projects. Historic basin of Renault, Le Mans has been set of major international OEMs. Their leaders are influential, notably by the weight of the purchases made with regional subcontractors, but they remain before any subject to strategies of their group in a difficult context for the car.

Important mechanical industry

This is true for Auto chassis International (ACI), subsidiary to 100 of Renault and major player in the regional economy. The project to invest in a new foundry, which accentuate the future of the company, will decide in particular in the Office of Carlos Ghosn. The production of tripod joints of the group, was outsourced almost ten years ago with Japanese equipment manufacturer NTN, which thus anchored its European Bridge head on the outskirts of le Mans, close to its direct competitor, the British GKN. Renault Agriculture completes this industrial substrate related to mechanics. The company has a renewed activity since its takeover by German Claas, which promoted community plant "tractor pole" for Europe, even if, in the term, a production to the East is not excluded. However, international competition is felt to the sarthois OEMs as Aro or specialist speakers Harman, which removes 133 jobs at Château-du-Loir.

Until 2001, Electronics was another sector predominant in le Mans. This

that year, Philips still employed 2.700 employees in the production of GSM phones. The important industrial site was divided and sold by apartments. Last March, Aevum, survival of this manufacturing activity, closed its doors, leaving 177 employees without a job. On the Campus Technology from Philips, remaining 700 jobs related to the research and development, including the Wiz4 com company, recently placed into receivership, and 480 employees of the Dutch, under the direction of Alain Loton, entrenched pattern locally. Part of this team since September owned the company NXP, Philips Semiconductor activity resumed by investment funds. These new shareholders strategy depends on the future of one of the few high-tech activities remaining in place.

A reinforced sports pole

If the fate of the large industrial sites elsewhere, the car remains a deeply embedded network, including through the Automobile Club of the West (COA), Manager of the 24 hours of le Mans, this race which gives the city a global image. The body, chaired by Jean-Claude Plassart, former boss of the modern counters, mobilizing every year hundreds of volunteers. "Here, the fact race part of the genetic heritage", notes Patrick Chaillou, Director of communication of the COA. The car is connected to the world of training, with the University of Maine, its centre of technology transfer and its acoustics laboratory (LAUM). As the Joint Union which manages the Bugatti circuit, it brings together the urban community, the region and the Department, 50 shareholder. These actors mobilize currently about EUR 20 million in modernization of the equipment.

Next year, the Southern District, where this high place of endurance, will be served by the tram. Communities dream deal is a sports pole involving the Antares Hall, temple of basketball, the hippodrome and other upcoming sports equipment, including a bicycle ring and the new stadium of football scheduled for January 2009. The rise of the MUC 72 (Le Mans Union Club 72) in League 1 football now justifies the construction of the building of 25,000 seats at a cost of 50.1 million, although 25 of the funding remains to find.

Because if it is a visible network, it is sport, worn by the good performance of the current teams. "Automobile, basketball, and football: in these three sports, Le Mans is located at the highest level", repeat the Roches officers. The trajectory of the football team is also a strong involvement of local entrepreneurs, including President Henri Legarda, CEO of the Group Valley, Patrick Jacques, master Western cleaning, Gilles Fauveau and Michel Morant, two building contractors.

Good fact basketball household with large distribution. The MSB (Le Mans Sarthe Basket), champion of France this year, was long the corporatist club of the modern counters, passed into the hands of Carrefour in 1998. Its leaders, including the President of the Executive Board Jean-Pierre Goisbault, are all derived from the Seraglio. The President of the Supervisory Board, Claude Hervé, comes from the concurrent sign, Leclerc. If 37 of the budget of the communities, a third party is the regional private sponsors such as the LDC volailler fact, chaired by Denis Lambert, or the cooperative of farmers of leased, directed by Yves de La Fouchardière, two sarthoises industrial figures. Carrefour, the NTN OEM or industrial Landeau are also among the partners of the club.

Culture: a deficit to catch up with

More inclined to have passion for the world of letters, Jean-Claude Boulard is suspicious of a picture only focused on the ball and the car. "The United States, many are those who believe that Le Mans is a race." "We are confronted with the paradox of a global reputation and lack of image," said the Mayor, who has decided to rebrand the medieval centre of the city, beautifully preserved, in "City Plantagenet", taking pretext from birth to the Le Mans of Henri II, husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine and father of Richard Lion heart.

To support this historic marketing coup, appealed to the society Skertzo, specialist of urban illumination. The "night of the chimera", design based on a system of image rétroprojetées on the walls of the old town, attracted nearly 150,000 visitors this summer, with an investment of EUR 1 million. The city has other cultural assets such as the Europa Jazz festival, internationally, or the theatre of the raft, a company that also bears its colours in the world. The municipality, which has undertaken the work of a new Museum of archaeology and history on 57,000 m2 (EUR 12 million), was also in his plans a city of music, dance and theatre (EUR 50 million) in a field of 9,000 already acquired m2, and a great cultural centre with a 800 seat theatre, cinema halls and a space for contemporary art (EUR 60 million). "We are on the road to the English: he must seize this chance for tourism", continues the elected, which mentions the new breath provides highway A28 between since late 2005 Rouen and Tours via Alençon and Le Mans.