2023-11-24 16:04:58
The availability of industrial land remains an obstacle to the reindustrialization of France. However, due to our geography and our low density, it was abundant for a long time and also constituted one of the assets for the development of our productive tool. This greater availability of land was reflected, for example, in lower prices than among our neighbors. Between 2014 and 2018, the industrial square meter was negotiated on average between 35 and 350 euros in France around the main urban areas, compared to 50 to 500 euros in Germany.
But since then, several laws, notably the “biodiversity” law of 2016, then the Climate and resilience law of 2021, have set ambitious objectives in terms of zero net artificialization. As revealed in a Senate memo (“ Policies to reduce artificialization », September 2023), France stands out for a significantly more prescriptive approach than that of our European neighbors, and the scarcity of land now concerns all regions. Thus, 67% of our intermunicipalities declare having refused economic establishment projects or suffered company relocations due to lack of economic land.
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Faced with this shortage of land supply, the demand for industrial premises remains very dynamic, with numerous projects supported by France Relance, then France 2030. The share of industry in the total volumes invested in business real estate thus increased from 3% in 2018 to 8% in 2022. As a result of this imbalance, industrial land is experiencing one of the largest increases in France: around + 75% over the period 2018-2022, one and a half times more than in Germany, three times more than in Italy. In a world of scarcity, we realize, too late, that this advantage is on hold, weakened by our lack of anticipation.
Stabilize the price of land
Land needs over the next decade are now quantified by consensus: between 20,000 and 30,000 hectares, depending on the different scenarios. These needs are relatively low: historically, only 4% of artificialization is linked to industry. However, and precisely because of their lower volume, this demand for industrial land risks being caught in the vice of economic issues which exceed it, between housing and businesses. Also, the first element of response to the current situation would be to protect our future industrial land, in line with real needs.
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