‘Work together’ motto helps town reduce jobless

Les Her­biers and surrounding communes in the Ven­dée had just a 5.4% unemployment rate in 2017, the second lowest rate in France, and half the national average of 10.7%.

It came second to Houdon, a Paris suburb in Yvelines, which has an unemployment rate of 4.7% and, as it is under 5%, officially has full employment.

But Houdon benefits from being a train ride from Paris and many residents are commuters, although it is also reputed for low business rates – 17% compared to 24-25% in some other areas.

While both towns are exceptional many rural towns have jobless figures lower than the national average. Figures from 2016 show 59% of young people in rural areas have a job – 10% up on city areas.

In Les Herbiers, about 40km south-east of Nantes in the Vendéen bocage, locals give credit to the Vendéen tradition of togetherness but with 70 small and medium-sized businesses in the town and its 25 industrial zones in the communes nearby it also speaks of an unusually strong spirit of entrepreneurship. That is not to say that all the companies are small; away from those 70 firms there are food industry giants Fleury-Michon, construction firms like Briand, foie gras producer Euralis, supermarket chain Système U and, just 10km away, Puy du Fou leisure park.

And, despite the Atlantic being 100km away, the world’s second-largest leisure boat builder, Chantiers Jeanneau, has been based here since 1957.

Eric Grignon, president of the local business federation Les Herbiers Entreprises, said: “I arrived in the bocage six years ago but I am astonished at the dynamism, the willingness to work together. We prefer to work with other Vendée businesses to encourage local links rather than go to outsiders.

“This works well and we benefit from having lots of production companies here from Jeanneau and K-Line, Fleury-Michon and others, so there is a lot of work.

“There is also a real spirit of working with a company and not for a company. Everyone knows the boss and we see this in the Meule Bleue charity Mobylette races that we do; there is no boss or employee there, just a team taking part, working together, having fun.

“At the end of the day, we enjoy working and there is a real willingness to fight for our values in work and business.”

At Jeanneau, PR head Mirna Cieniewicz said that when the firm set up it was making lake cruisers and road access was vital. It is the same now for global business with motorway access on the A83 and A87.

“Les Herbiers has a dynamic industrial fabric: there are many companies which have developed well over the last few years and are recruiting.”