The 12th edition of the Salon du Made in France takes place from Saturday November 8 to Monday November 11 in Paris. However, crafts are the leading producer of “made in France”, with 2 million companies. Joël Fourny, president of CMA France, the Chambers of Trades and Crafts, comes to give us an overview of this label today in 2024.
franceinfo: We talk a lot about Made in France, whether in politics, the media or among consumers, but is there real support?
Joël Fourny : Yes, it remains a criterion of choice. Since Covid, we know that consumers are perhaps a little more careful even if purchasing power is a limit on consumption. For some consumers, it is a real choice to buy a product made in France. And the artisans are the first ambassadors of this “made in France”. So, when a consumer buys a product, it means that they have clearly identified that it is perhaps a little more expensive initially but at the same time, it is a product that is durable, that can be repaired. Repairability in the craft sector exists. And so in the final assessment, the cost is not that high, and is sometimes even less expensive.
The argument we make is that it is generally more expensive.
We have the impression, but it also depends on whether you want to give meaning to the social bond, to the fact of supporting the local and local economy, the service to the populations.
“Buying an artisanal product is an act, I would say, of commitment to the national economy.”
What results for this first day of the show? You presented the craft professions there.
I was on site in the 2,000 square meter space, where we have 214 artisanal companies which come from all the territories of France, all the departments. With artisans extremely happy to be there, because they saw many, many people. There were a considerable number of visitors today for the first day, it's quite exceptional.
The Minister responsible for Rural Affairs, Commerce and Crafts Françoise Gatel was also present. Do you have the impression that the executive is sensitive to your problems, to your current issues?
She is very sensitive to it and in particular, she wanted to look at who the exhibitors were and what they represented. She was very amazed and very surprised to see that a good number of business leaders were above all craftsmen established in new professions in the craft sector. And with very atypical career paths, because many people are in career change. And that reassured her a lot about the challenge of the artisanal sector, where we know that we have 300,000 companies to sell in the next 10 years. And so this is a real opportunity for us.
Are there any candidates for takeover?
Yes, there are candidates for takeover, creators, project leaders for the creation of new businesses. Even if we are in an extremely delicate period from an economic point of view. However, there remains a strong desire to create your own company, to take over a craft business.
“You really have real opportunities that are open to the general public, to people who are from different professional backgrounds.”
The government is seeking 60 billion for the 2025 budget. In the text under consideration in Parliament, there is talk of a reduction in apprenticeships and learning aids.
Yes, we are raised against it because obviously, in my opinion, it is not an economy. It should be an investment. And when we talk about support for companies to the tune of 6,000 euros, even if we review things, that means that we are putting a brake on the dynamic on work-study training, on initial training . Even though companies have never let down their guard since these various delicate and difficult years. And I think that would be a very bad sign. While there were practically 850,000 or 900,000 apprentices, we may have difficulties. I think that, depending on the size of the companies, it is necessary to keep the aid at 6,000 euros for companies with less than 250, or even 50 employees.
“It is not up to the company to take charge of the entire apprenticeship, it must be helped, it must be supported if we want young people to find employability behind it.”
Nearly 80% of these young people find a job within six or seven months of obtaining their diploma. It is an important qualification which is recognized by the sector and by the sector. If we do not deal with things in this way during initial training, we will find these groups in difficulty and perhaps we will have to invest in the social aspect. So, let's make a commitment to support him now.
The government also wants to make life easier for businesses. What do you, artisans, very small businesses, need?
I would like, every day, to be able to simplify the time needed by the business manager for the declarative, administrative part, etc. We need to simplify significantly. That means you have to dare to go very far. We must dare to move towards having only one entry point for the declaration part and that the company does not need to provide information to different State services. We absolutely must make things easier from an administrative point of view for the company. The artisan needs to produce, he needs to market, he needs to develop. So, where he has more and more tasks to perform, we must give him time and allow him to move faster in his production. And therefore simplify the administrative and declarative part.
Concretely, how much time does an artisan spend on average on administrative tasks?
You don't have far from 20% of craftsmen who spend time on the declarative part, when they need this time to produce a little more. Even more so when we have profitability issues linked to the cost of energy, the cost of operation or life which is a little more expensive than before. The more we are in these dispositions, the more we need to reduce the declarative part of the business manager. His job is not the administrative part, it's the production part.
