On Monday evening, the board of directors of the French Building Federation of Gard welcomed the Gard parliamentarians and elected officials to present to them the “health” of the Gard construction industry. Senators Denis Bouad and Laurent Burgoa were present as well as RN deputies Sylvie Josserand, Pascale Bordes, Pierre Meurin and Yoann Gillet represented by his substitute Jean-Pierre Fuster.
As a preamble, Pierre Martin, president of the FFB du Gard, presented the alarming figures from the Cerc Occitanie, including that of concrete consumption, which has fallen by 31% over the last 12 months. A president annoyed to note that despite the warnings issued for two years, “The resigning government has done nothing to reverse the downward trend in activity.”
“Today, we still do not have a government and even less a Minister of Housing. We will need a full-fledged one, given the urgency of the situation.”declared Pierre Martin, who recalled the role that local elected officials must play in a cross-party manner so that the FFB’s proposals can be heard and implemented.
“I undertake to contact the Prime Minister quickly”
In this delicate context, the FFB is recording business failures and layoffs. “Over a year, with a workforce of 11,292 workers in the construction industry, that’s almost 500 fewer jobs in our department and that doesn’t seem to shock anyone.”confides the president. The opportunity for these building contractors to alert elected officials about the fate of craftsmen and contractors who are risking their health, their homes and their families in the turbulence of this degraded economy.
Difficulties shared by the parliamentarians present, like Senator Denis Bouad: “I fully share the major concern of the sector’s players in the face of the current economic situation. Beyond the 12,000 direct jobs represented by the construction sector, our concern also concerns our ability to adequately house the people of Gard. Since 2021, I have been calling on the various ministers on the need to make housing a major national cause with a Marshall Plan without really being heard. It will be essential for the next government to fully appreciate what is at stake.”
Also sensitive to these demands, Senator Laurent Burgoa has committed, “to quickly contact Prime Minister Michel Barnier and the future Minister of Housing when he is appointed. When the building industry is doing well, everything is doing well, but currently, the situation is the opposite. We therefore need a strong national will in this area, in particular through a programming law.”
