Budget voted unanimously and arrival of Grégoire Pierre-Dessaux.
Eric Butel, Eric Giraudier and Grégoire Pierre-Dessaux (Photo Anthony Maurin)
« A public establishment, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry has a strict and controlled budget. We don't lose 50 billion like that! We are close to business leaders and we work for the general interest and for the business leaders of Gard » explains President Éric Giraudier.
On November 18, the Consular Chamber had to vote on its budget and it was voted unanimously. “ The budget? This is the way to give ourselves the financial means to act in favor of the territory and 50,000 Gard businesses. The economy is systemic and if we help businesses, we help the entire territory » continues Éric Giraudier.
The Company House will be completed at the end of the year and put into service immediately. • Photo CCI Gard
It must be said that the year 2025 will be a pivotal year for the CCI du Gard. Beyond tensions of all kinds, the Chamber will move and settle on the edges of the ring road, in its brand new Maison De l'Entreprise. As we are there, the construction site is going well, no unpleasant surprises in terms of costs and announced construction delays. Therefore, the move-in will take place in the first three months of 2025 and the inauguration in June 2025.
Eric Butel, Eric Giraudier and Grégoire Pierre-Dessaux (Photo Anthony Maurin)
For treasurer Éric Butel, things are not simple, but the elected official is composing. “ Building and organizing a lasting CCI is our goal. In ten years, state allocations have been divided by four! »
The 2024 amended budget and the initial budget were therefore voted on. GOOD. But the state of finances is constrained, it is then necessary to invest by generating income specific to the CCI du Gard.
Especially since the State has even planned to take money from the working capital of the 100 French CCIs. Not easy because no one knows the height of the sample. Only the overall envelope of 40 million was announced.
« Ideally, they will take 56,000 euros from us, in the worst case it will be 145,000 euros, but the budget does not take this into account… Since I have been in office, so since 2016, the CCI has collected a tax for Room costs of more than nine million euros, today, there are four of us! We had planned to break even, but despite all this we will probably have a slight gross operating surplus of one million euros. The 2024 and 2025 budgets should therefore be positive because the sales made in recent years have brought us money which we have placed and then invested. We also paid attention to our personnel costs, everything is considered! » says Éric Butel.
To get by, you have to put in place and advance purchasing and investment projects. “ We say what we do and we do what we say! The house is well kept and with many activities » assures President Giraudier.
The establishment of the CCI Sud CFA Alès training. Photo Archives Tony Duret / Objectif Gard
« In 2025, we should take out a small loan for the renovation project of the CFA in Alès. We are the second trainer in Gard and we must have operational infrastructures. There will be around 200,000 euros, half of which will be our responsibility. (Editor’s note, the rest is up to the partners). »
The CCI also takes stock of two exhibitions that they organize. Nimagine and Yum!. In Nîmes and Alès. For Éric Giraudier, “ We must not be grandiloquent but take action for the territory… For Nimagine, we have exceeded our objectives and visitors and exhibitors are satisfied, which pushes us to buy back the Parc des Expos, something we should do by the end of the year. end of 2024. »
In the living room Yum! At lunch time, it becomes difficult to find a place to eat as there are so many people. • Louis Valat
Regarding the living room Yum! close to Alès, “ Here too, we achieved our objectives with 20,500 visitors happy to have come. »
But the CCI does not stop there. The year 2025 will be tough, the first six months scare some economists. To avoid damage, the Chamber will propose, from the beginning of 2025, an important action that it calls “TPE Monitoring”.
As its name suggests, the CCI is an actor close to the economy of the territory and it has all the cards in hand to know the economic health of everyone.
Éric Giraudier explains it. “ We cannot change the global macroeconomy but we can try to help locally. Payment times are already lengthening and we know how to identify companies that need Veille TPE. We will identify, characterize, qualify and put in place relationships by contacting those that we judge to be a little fragile to help them get through this complicated stage before ceasing activity. »
New to the house but already seen in post in Gard, Grégoire Pierre-Dessaux is the general director of the CCI du Gard. Former chief of staff of the prefect of Gard, here he is ready to get his hands dirty.
« I wanted to return to this department to establish myself as close as possible to economic activity. With the CCI and the issues it covers, it is up to me to propose things in line with local businesses. In addition, the MDE where we will soon move will be the first “green” CCI in France! We must also define the structural issues but we are already thinking about the knowledge, development and learning of artificial intelligence. »
Grégoire Pierre-Dessaux, new general director of the CCI du Gard (Photo Anthony Maurin)
The next important dates of the CCI du Gard will be November 21 at the Drop with TransmiCCIble at 5:30 p.m., November 29 at Bic Innov'Up for the Occitanie Export Tour from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and December 2 again at the Drop for the 2024 tourism day Finally, the CCI vows will take place in Paloma on Wednesday January 29, 2025.
