Châtellerault has the first industrial basin in New Aquitaine (1). Needless to say, the industry is the subject of much attention between the post-crisis rebound, retraining and the dire need for labor (2).
The next MP will have to closely monitor the hot issues of the moment, first and foremost the establishment of a green hydrogen production unit on the former Fonderies du Poitou site.
The reconversion of foundries
This large-scale project, worth several tens of millions of euros, is carried out by a French consortium made up of the hydrogen producer Lhyfe and the solar energy specialist TSE. It is very strongly supported by the public authorities.
Overall, the constituency has also, during Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term and the start of the second, benefited from the government’s largesse: Industrial Territories, City Heart Action, Small Towns of Tomorrow, Educational Cities, France spaces services… The systems are varied and the financial envelopes are substantial.
The City Heart Action program, entering its 2nd yeare phase (until 2026), for example, mobilized, in its act 1, no less than 13 million euros. Châtellerault is campaigning today in spheres of influence, notably with the prefect Jean-Marie Girier, a historic Macronist, to obtain a 3e urban renovation operation, after that of Plaine d’Ozon and Lac-Renardières, for the popular district of Châteauneuf.
Aging population, decline in public services, commercial desertification, precariousness… The picture is not all rosy either. Threats weigh on Châtellerault-Loudun as they weigh on other territories with a similar identity. That of a central city, surrounded by peri-urban communities with a high population density and a vast rural sector.
Health, a major issue
Two statistics from INSEE (2018) are striking. On average, in the constituency, 85% of home-work trips are made by car (compared to 70% national average) and only 4% by public transport (compared to 15% nationally). What about the development of public transport and the feeling of isolation?
Second figure: if 92% of residents have access to a school in their municipality of residence, only 67% have access to a doctor (80% nationally), and 65% to a pharmacy. In fact, health is another huge issue for the years to come.
The merger of the Poitiers University Hospital with the Châtellerault-Loudun hospital has made it possible, at least for the moment, to improve the offer locally but the prospects for community medicine remain painfully worrying.
(1) As a share of salaried jobs.
(2) 68% of recruitment projects in 2024 are considered difficult to fill by companies, according to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Employment Observatory.
