• For Alain Rousset, industrial relocation involves “technological leaps”.

  • "We must strengthen the bridges between the world of research and the world of business, which we are already doing with our technological platforms" launches the outgoing president who is seeking a fifth term.

  • We must also anticipate market developments, he said, and for this the region is already preparing a "consortium on electric vehicles."

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Outgoing president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Alain Rousset (PS) is running for a fifth term at the age of 70 at the head of the region.

He answered questions from

20 Minutes

concerning the reindustrialization component of his program in the elections of June 20 and 27.

There has been a lot of talk since the start of the health crisis, of regaining sovereignty in the manufacture of certain products… Do you agree, and how could this be reflected in New Aquitaine?

I completely agree. This massive relocation of a number of activities has been denounced for a long time. With elements as essential to everyday life as medicines, 90% of the basic principles of which come from China - this is also true for electronics - this can cause a serious supply crisis in our pharmacies, or to repair a washing machine or computer. However, believing that we are going to close factories in China to reopen them under the same conditions in New Aquitaine does not make sense. Reclaiming our sovereignty requires technological leaps. And there, I am thinking of bio-sourcing [mix of innovation and biology]. How can we recreate drug bases from pine resin? How, from plants,manufacture products that will replace synthetic chemicals in agriculture? Everything goes through innovation, we must further strengthen the bridges between the world of research and the world of business, which we are already doing with our technological platforms.

How to accelerate all these innovations, industrialize these processes, to be able to implement them effectively?

For years, we have supported these companies, but it is long or medium term.

And there are brakes.

For example, we have a company that transforms microalgae to treat downy mildew in vines.

It is as effective as copper.

The problem is approval, and here we have a real difficulty with ANSES [National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety], it is a problem of the State, of centralization.

And this company is going to be approved in Belgium.

Health, agriculture… Are these the sectors of the future that must be developed in New Aquitaine?

Among other things, yes.

We must diversify, in a German-style strategy, from our companies, our laboratories, our training.

Look at the ecosystem that we invented in aeronautics, with the Aérocampus de Latresne, where everyone now comes to be trained, even from abroad.

We are going to do the same thing to invent the railroad of tomorrow, which consists of lighter trains, by converting an SNCF brownfield site in Saintes (Charente-Maritime).

As for more traditional industries, the region is still suffering from closures, relocations ... How to stop this bleeding?

First, Nouvelle-Aquitaine is reindustrializing: 36% of industrial jobs in France were created in our region in 2019. The region has at the same time set up a “turnaround” team to change the activities of companies when they are not suitable. more at the market.

We have invested 40 million euros in this strategy and saved more than 4,000 jobs.

But we cannot say that everything will be preserved and that there will only be growth.

There are businesses that are going to disappear.

The gasoline vehicle, tomorrow, will no longer be in circulation.

We therefore need to design another vehicle, other professions… We are already working on a consortium on electric vehicles, and the first battery factory will be in Nersac, near Angoulême.

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