The territories, he knows them well having crisscrossed them for several years as deputy president of the Medef – Mouvement des Entreprises de France. But we bet that this rate of visits will accelerate since Patrick Martin has for a few days been officially a candidate for the succession of Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux [qui cède sa place en juillet prochain après un mandat non reconductible de cinq ans, ndlr] at the head of the employers’ union.
After the Var at the beginning of the month, he was visiting this Thursday in the Alpes-Maritimes where he met the actors of the territorial Medef. He also took the opportunity to go to Cannes at Mipim, the major international meeting place for real estate professionals. A visit that the number two outgoing from Medef is also president of Martin-Beylasoud, a family ETI for the distribution of products for the building and industry [1Md€ de chiffre d’affaires en 2022, ndlr]also assigns to “irrelevant interest that I bring to everything related to real estate. A subject of great concern for all players in the sector but well beyond.”
Is it for bosses like you?
It is necessary to understand the situation in respect of the construction sector which represents nearly 10% of the country’s GDP – especially at a time when the market is seizing up. But also take into account this subject as a whole. National and local Malthusian policies in terms of construction mechanically lead to a scarcity of housing. If we don’t boost construction, we will accentuate the problem of French purchasing power. Housing represents 40% of the constrained expenses of low-income households.
There is also an issue of professional mobility. 50% of unemployed people housed in social housing give up a professional opportunity requiring them to move geographically. They fear that they will not be able to relocate. There is a two-year wait to access social housing, even eight years in some cities. The third challenge is more societal: housing, like food, is a primary need. If we do not resolve it, we are going to face difficulties in the social climate.
You have just declared yourself a candidate for the presidency of Medef. What’s the next step?
Get the 150 referrals needed and it’s on track. I’m not saying that everything I did alongside Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux was well done, but some voters give me credit in terms of knowledge of the files, involvement and ability to deliver and materialize.
Yellow vests, Covid, war in Ukraine, energy crisis… The five years of this mandate have been turbulent.
I think that with Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, we got the job done, each with their own personality. Things having changed towards a hardening, I want to embody a dynamic by carrying subjects around which our country turns in circles. In this case, that of housing which we have just mentioned. But also that of energy which, under the constraint of events, has only been seriously addressed for a few months. It is also spectacular to see the reversal of public opinion on nuclear power. I am pro-nuclear for reasons of sovereignty and economic competitiveness.
We are finally talking regarding reindustrialization but we have to go to the end of the reasoning. You can’t want factories on one side and not want them at home on the other. We cannot attract French or foreign industrial investment if our economy is not competitive. Especially since the United States are more and more so. In 2022, they had practically the same GDP as Europe: 23% vs 25%. The investment was 13% in Europe and 30% in the United States: they are widening the gap on founding projects of innovation in digital, biotechnology… In February, they represented 56% of the global investment.
How do you plan to achieve this?
My project is therefore to carry the thesis of scientific and technical progress, of responsible growth because I am a convinced environmentalist. We have no other choice but we must reconcile this urgent ecological transition with that of economic and social performance. Without wealth creation, it is impossible to finance our social model, nor the investments needed to decarbonise our economy. Companies must now commit €40 billion more per year to finance their decarbonization.
What are your strengths, in your opinion?
I have been at the Medef for 25 years following having been president of a departmental (Ain) then regional Medef: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. I know the machine from the inside and know better than anyone that the employers’ union is a living body within which one can only succeed through the collective.
At the risk of sounding pretentious, I surprise myself with my energy. I love what I do, being in contact with our 190,000 members. I did not wait for the campaign to do so. I feed myself whether on a human or professional level… from these contacts.
What is your program?
It is not yet stabilized because I am on board some members who contribute to its development. Its official presentation will only take place following the approval of the applications at the beginning of May.
Your priorities?
In addition to housing, training, from college to seniors, is a subject on which I am very determined. The best-performing economies are not those with the cheapest energy prices or the lowest taxes… They are those where the level of training is the highest.
Another founding subject for me is financing. We must stop regulating the financiers of the economy such as banks, insurers, capital investors, private savings. Not to mention the regulations that cost France €100 billion per year: businesses and individuals alike. We must reduce this pile of regulations (ZFE, obligation of thermal renovation of housing…), which are often inconsistent with each other, socially penalizing and which have perverse effects…
Dominique Carlac’h, the current vice-president of Medef, has also applied. You have worked together for five years together. What are the differences between your two applications?
Never insult the future. We have different profiles, I will work to ensure that there are women – if possible mostly in my team. Dominique Carlac’h is very determined on CSR issues. I am too but I think it can’t be a world apart. If we do not generate wealth, we will have the greatest difficulty in financing the ecological transition, in making integration…
I also think I am more involved in the real economy, if only through my job. Dominique Carlac’h is at the head of a Parisian innovation consulting company of 25 people. I am at the head of a company established on 220 sites in France which is at the crossroads of many sectors of activity because my markets are construction, industry, services. I live daily the reality of the economy and the territories. We are on professional origins and militant positions that are more complementary than competitive.
Regarding the pension issue…
I repeat that this reform is essential, that it is not surprising that it is largely unpopular. It is nevertheless a necessary passage point to perpetuate the pay-as-you-go pension system which is part of the French social model. You can turn this around but you have to do it. Was she brought in the best conditions? Maybe not. Will it be enough to settle the subject of financial equilibrium? We may have doubts but it’s time to land and move on.
Of which victory are you most proud of this mandate carried out alongside Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux?
There are several of them. To have faced crises. The Medef has been a major contributor to the measures put in place by the government such as the PGE, the Solidarity Fund for companies which have saved the French economy and employment. We have also renewed a good quality of social dialogue with the unions: without capitulating, with demands and results. The latest being this interprofessional agreement on value sharing signed by four unions. Or the one concluded on teleworking. It is really to be credited to this mandate.
Third reason for satisfaction: we have helped to improve the image of the company and of Medef through a modernity and an openness that did not exist before. We have given ourselves a purpose that makes sense “Acting together for responsible growth” and it was not a foregone conclusion. Finally, we have strengthened the weight of the territories in the bodies and the electoral college, which was not the case in 2018. Membership has increased by 30% since the start of the mandate and 15 federations have joined. Surveys show a satisfaction rate of 92.1%.
