Online commerce versus physical stores, fast-fashion and concreting versus environmental concerns, respectful and costly sectors versus inflation, city stores and country outlets… businesses are at the heart of the evolution of our societies. With the key, nearly two million jobs.
“As of December 1”, says the Minister for SMEs and Trade Olivia Grégoire in an interview with the Sunday newspaper, “we are going to set up a National Trade Council” (CNC), an “essential tool for the representation of this sector and to work on its development”, in particular on environmental priorities. If today “72% of French spending is still made” in commercial areas, these “concentrate energy sieves, generate heat islands, consume agricultural and forest areas to the detriment of biodiversity and are sometimes unsightly,” she says.
Shopping areas “symbols of the failed promises of the consumer society”
These areas which are “today the symbols of the failed promises of the consumer society” must be rethought, says the minister. Especially since the Climate and Resilience law has frozen any new establishment of commercial areas on the outskirts of cities.
“With the CNC and all the players, I want us to imagine their transformation to rebuild a business that fits into a place of life, densified and mixed with housing, services and offices, all with signatures innovative architectural and environmental solutions”, she said, promising 24 million euros to carry out, for example, “10 to 30 demonstrators”, specifying that “the State will not finance this transformation alone but will stimulate it with the local authorities and speed it up”.
The CNC, not to be confused with the Center National du Cinéma, will be led by Thierry Mandon, former Secretary of State for Simplification. “He is a man who masters public action who will be able to bring people together and who is, incidentally, a champion of the simplification of standards, which is something we badly need,” said the minister. It was given the task of meeting all the players in the trade to make “concrete and rapid proposals from the month of June”.
Olivia Grégoire also specifies that 12 million euros will be allocated next year by the State to a plan to reopen businesses in rural areas, itinerant businesses or doorsteps.
As for the “Action heart of the city” program dedicated since 2017 to the revitalization of the centers of medium-sized towns and endowed with an “envelope of 5 billion euros” of which 20% went to trade, “a new component (is) in preparation by the Ministries of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion,” she says.