François de Canson: 'The Region supports business creation and transmission'

Over 10 years, annual attendance, all accommodation types combined, has increased by 7%. And tourism represents €21 billion in economic benefits, or 13% of GDP. It is the leading industry in our region, which we have managed to make prosper by balancing the necessary equilibrium between economy and ecology.

But 2024 is also about major international events. We can congratulate President Renaud Muselier for his commitment and determination to secure them.

First of all with the Tour de France, which brought together more than 300,000 people in the Alpes du Sud and generated 20 million in economic benefits. Not forgetting this historic finish on the Promenade des Anglais with 230,000 people present. Then, the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Thus, on May 8, the day the flame arrived in Marseille, there were 250,000 people on the Vieux Port and this created €20 million in economic benefits! The Olympic and Paralympic Games mean €200 million in economic benefits in the Région Sud'.

The vice-president of the region in charge of tourism adds: 'In 2030, we will host the Winter Games. These Games will be the Games of the entire Sud. On this subject, meet at the hôtel de Région on February 19 for the launch of the Regional Parliament of the Games. They will make us proud to be from the Sud, and it starts in 2025'.

When mentioning the JO of 2030, François de Canson does not only talk about the Marseille - Briançon line, the road developments in Hautes-Alpes or the ice rink in Nice. The official also evokes all the public policies that will have to be carried out, everywhere. 'The Games will protect us in all areas, in all decisions.

The Games will take nothing away from anyone! It is quite the opposite! That is why I speak of optimism, I speak of federation, I speak of protection in national decisions.

Because the world is changing, accelerating, and new realities are taking shape' (...)

'You entrepreneurs are on the front line, I was reading it again this weekend, Nicolas Dufourq, head of the BPI, calling you heroic SMEs. Our role is to be a hub of proximity and stability. For let us make no mistake, let us be very lucid, we know that instability, particularly political instability, is not the best cocktail for risk-taking, investment, and audacity.

One only has to read the latest Ifop Fiducial barometer of VSEs. Only 25% of them envisage growth. 85% are pessimistic about the business climate and, paradoxalement, it is perhaps in these times that we must multiply these capacities.

We are in a solid region. On the map of France of the 71 closed or threatened industrial sites published by l'Usine Nouvelle, there is no site in the Région Sud, and even less in the Var, which is reindustrializing'.

THE MAJOR CHALLENGES 'If we step back, what are the current major challenges? We are European, which is after all the major marker dictating our ways of operating. Europe is undergoing a profound transformation, moving from a model based on free trade and cooperation to a more security-oriented and strategic approach in the face of current geo-economic challenges.

Historically focused on interdependence and normative regulation, the Union Européenne must now arm itself for competition between powers, adapting its budget to the challenges of defense and economic transformation. Mario Draghi stresses the urgency of closing the economic gap with the États-Unis. The GDP gap between the Union Européenne and the États-Unis has widened in recent years, doubling in 10 years, exceeding 30% today.

This is not inevitable, and he outlines the major principles to be applied. Entrepreneurs have a key role to play by exploiting European opportunities that are often underestimated due to their complexity.

This year, we were labeled Vallée Régionale de l'Innovation with 11 LIFE projects selected! A record and already €130 million recovered for our research and innovation players. We will create dedicated sessions to support you and maximize regional benefits.

The Region is by your side. I will not list all the regional schemes open to you. Simply recall that in recent years, 2,600 Var businesses have been supported to the tune of €60 million.

This would not have been possible without the joint action of l'État and the CCI. Thank you to Philippe Mahé, préfet du Var, and to Basil Gertis, president of the CCI'.

THE 2025 PROJECTS Finally, the vice-president of the Region spoke about the projects for 2025. He explained: 'The budgetary context forces us to propose a budget of solidarity and responsibility. We take responsibility for supporting these two priorities for the regional economy.

In terms of solidarity, the Region will continue to support the local economic fabric. We are maintaining all our funding and support schemes, and we are strengthening aid for small business owners. We support business creation and transmission.

The Region will improve its policy of access to employment and skills with coordinated action at the level of employment areas. The training offer will be more aligned with the needs of businesses and the territory, in view of the JO 2030. In terms of responsibility, the Region anticipates transitions rather than undergoing them and will support major industrial projects at the level of ecological transition with the roadmap for the Bassin de Fos-sur-Mer, at the digital level with the roadmap for Artificial Intelligence, and at the employment level with the sectoral objective contract.

In 2025, we will be the leading region in terms of business creations by mobilizing nearly €200M for the region's VSEs and SMEs, providing 'Région Sud Investissement' with an additional €53 million, protecting 600 businesses with 'Mon Bouclier Cyber', and opening the 0% interest loan window for VSEs.

And, with the implementation of major industrial projects (Pacte d'Airbus, DEOS, Carbon, Gravithy, Naval Group, etc.) This also concerns the creation of a regional Club ETI (Entreprise de Taille Intermédiaire) to bring together the major bosses who make the region proud, to work on the territory's attractiveness, and to support SMEs. Finally, I recall and reaffirm the commitment of the Region and Renaud Muselier to the future of the commercial port.

Here too, it is a matter of reassuring, stabilizing, and drawing up the roadmap for the coming years for this port, which is as atypical as it is endearing, extraordinary, with a powerful history. It is a military, scientific, yachting, and commercial port. We will be alongside the CCI, with the Ville de Toulon, with the Métropole, with l'État, to study and move forward on a port company project,' concluded François de Canson.