Reindustrialization: the French challenge

Reindustrialization: understanding in order to act

Forty years after factories fled to low-cost countries, how can the tide be turned? With both feet firmly planted in unbridled globalization, digital transformation, and the shift to service sector jobs, France must also reindustrialize for the sake of sovereignty, climate urgency, and regional vitality. Here is what you need to know to understand the challenge.

Let's start with the basics: what does "reindustrialize" mean? Is it synonymous with the more commonly used term "relocate"? The answer is no. Reindustrialization is more ambitious than relocation. In fact, relocating to France the factories that were shipped to Eastern Europe or Asia in the 1980s and 1990s would make little sense, given how much manufacturing processes have changed since then, not to mention regulatory requirements. Reindustrialization is above all about regaining control and power. It is therefore a question of sovereignty and democratic health. As the geographer explains Anaïs Voy-Gillis  In his book Pour une révolution industrielle (For an Industrial Revolution), the link between industry and democracy is indirect but it exists: without industry, you become dependent on other states. The stronger this dependence, the more difficult it will be to maintain a democratic process that is neutral and unbiased by foreign economic, military, or financial influences. In short, without industry, there can be no sovereign democracy.

The Forces françaises de l’industrie (FFI), a network of entrepreneurs and investors campaigning for products made in France, are proclaiming loud and clear that reindustrialization means strengthening and sustaining our industrial production. And it certainly needs it! In May 2024, the Directorate-General for Enterprise (DGE), a central department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Bercy, emphasized that "the deindustrialization that took place between the 1970s and the 2010s affected all developed countries, but it particularly affected France, with industry's share of GDP falling from 17% to 11% between 1995 and 2017." The ratio has continued to decline, falling below 10% since then (see infographic opposite).

Factory openings and closures: the thermometer yo-yo

This decline came to a halt in the early 2010s, with an initial wave of reindustrialization... whose efforts were disrupted in the following decade by the COVID crisis, then the war in Ukraine. The DGE has been considering new measurement tools, particularly because the line between industry and services is becoming increasingly blurred: We have developed an industry barometer based on three new indicators: jobs in industrial occupations, the number of active factories, and the net number of industrial sites opened minus those closed across the entire country. , she states on her website According to these new indicators, by mid-2024, business was picking up again: with 108,000 additional jobs created in industrial occupations in 2022 and projections indicating that France will have 500 more factories in 2023 than in 2016. .

But that was in the spring of 2024! And since then, the FFI has been warning that the situation is becoming delicate again: We would have liked to enter the summer of reindustrialization, but winter has returned. , said Laurent Moisson, co-founder of the FFI, during a meeting held at the AFNOR group's premises on January 14, 2025. Against a backdrop of political instability, debt crisis, and widespread belt-tightening, The trend in manufacturing employment has turned negative. Many start-ups will not find funding. Some gigafactories will not see the light of day. , reports Olivier Lluansi , author of Réindustrialiser, le défi d’une génération (Reindustrialization: The Challenge of a Generation), published by Les Déviations.

Balancing industry, decarbonization, and biodiversity

For the first time since 2016, there were more industrial site closures than openings in France in 2024, despite a strong first half of the year, driven by the green industry: There are the big names, such as Bosch, which is laying off several hundred employees, but also Caddie, Stellantis, and Valeo. And then there are more than a hundred small and medium-sized companies, less visible, which are also caught up in the reindustrialization crisis. A total of 90 of them closed down in 2024. After Cholet, where the closure of the Michelin factory alone led to the loss of more than 900 jobs, Caen is the urban area where the difference between jobs created and jobs lost is the greatest. , summarized Les Echos in November 2024.

Reindustrialization: focusing on SMEs and mid-sized companies

For him, we're starting from too far away: We would need to train 200,000 new professionals every year, but currently only 60,000 people are entering the profession annually. Similarly, RTE (the electricity transmission network) tells us that, given our ambitions to decarbonize our economy, we can draw up an industrial roadmap for 2035 at 12% or 13% of GDP, but not 15%: we will not yet have the new nuclear reactors to power these new industries. Do we want to pursue carbon-based reindustrialization? I don't think so! The climate cannot therefore be sacrificed on the altar of reindustrialization, even though, from France's perspective, this concept has the advantage of shortening supply chains, thereby reducing CO2 emissions, by bringing production centers closer to consumption centers. Natural spaces, on the other hand, are the subject of heated debate, as demonstrated by the numerous industrial exemptions, obtained or requested, from the principle of ZAN (zero net artificialization).

For the FFI, two-thirds of the potential for reindustrialization lies in the regions. In existing SMEs and mid-sized companies! Let's be clear: reindustrialization is not happening in Paris, nor is it happening solely in startups. Nor is it happening in gigafactories, even though they offer us fantastic stories. Symbols are not everything. It is thanks to the existing industrial fabric of our thousands of SMEs that we can succeed. , says Olivier Lluansi. Two examples of these SMEs are Le Parapluie de Cherbourg and Vitabri. The former had a record year in 2024, with 22,000 umbrellas manufactured at its factory in the Cotentin region, which employs around 30 people, and 35% growth in online sales. 

Its founder, Charles Yvon, launched a new product in 2025: an umbrella! Vitabri is not to be outdone: this SME based in Besançon manufactures a quick-deployment folding tent (thanks to gas springs), as well as tents and marquees for events, all of which are certified products. Guaranteed French origin . Most of our parts came from Asia, so we decided to bring them closer to us in order to secure our supplies. , says its director, Emmanuel Musner.

Mobilizing individual savings and public procurement

The question of money, the lifeblood of war, remains. Individual savings and public procurement are two levers that are regularly cited. Customs duties can be added to this list, as the new US president has loudly reminded us. But French-style political procrastination is preventing the launch of what would be a Marshall Plan for French industry.

While France is still debating whether to channel its savings into industry, the Germans are already doing so, as Laurent Moisson regularly points out. Why not channel a small portion of the $6.5 trillion in savings held by the French—who, let's not forget, are the world's second-biggest savers—into our reindustrialization? The 2023 green industry law contains everything needed to do so. Meanwhile, the Germans, who are experiencing a period of political instability at least equivalent to ours, are announcing a major initiative: a 10% tax credit will be granted to any German or foreign company, or group of investors, that invests in the country's industrial production. 

We need to invest 20 billion euros per year for ten years. , adds Olivier Lluansi. That's 3% of French people's savings. But we don't have the "short circuit" between savers and investors to make this happen. Go see your banker and ask him for a product that finances your region's economy: it doesn't exist. As for public procurement, it is not patriotic; it buys fewer "made in France" manufactured products than we ourselves do as citizens! 

This winter, FFI took the initiative to raise €50 million to invest in French SMEs through the FFI Croissance fund. But much more would be needed. If the public authorities created the conditions to encourage life insurance companies to take an interest in the subject, our reindustrialization would be financed! , insists Olivier Lluansi. On June 20, 2024, and then on January 14, 2025, the AFNOR group brought together a group of pioneers convinced that relocation is a team effort. Reindustrialization is not just about opening factories in France, but also about successfully surrounding oneself with an ecosystem of French suppliers.

"Solutions exist, right now."

Three questions for Olivier Lluansi, who was the first delegate to the Territoires d'industrie program and has just published Réindustrialiser, le défi d'une génération (Reindustrialization: The Challenge of a Generation) with Les Déviations.

We often talk about percentages of GDP. What other indicators would you suggest for measuring reindustrialization?

We need to measure reindustrialization: should we do so in terms of GDP? Trade balance? Industrial jobs? The well-known indicator of the number of sites opening and closing? In my opinion, the best indicator at the macroeconomic level, the one that allows us to measure the power of an industry, a country, or a continent, is its trade balance in manufactured goods. Our goal for 2035 in France is to achieve a structurally balanced trade balance in goods. Since 2005, our trade deficit has fluctuated between €50 billion and €100 billion.

In public policies for reindustrialization, what mistakes should be avoided?

It would be a mistake, and even a dead end, to neglect the potential of existing SMEs and mid-cap companies in order to focus solely on gigafactories and startups. I advocate strengthening the existing industrial fabric throughout France's regions, which is our greatest asset. I would also like to see a more pragmatic approach to regulations: on land use, for example, reindustrialization is indeed compatible with the protection of our biodiversity and the famous ZAN (zero net artificialization by 2050), but not with the regulations we have adopted, which remain blind to the diversity of territories. Sometimes we have land, but not many projects, and sometimes it's the other way around! The Grand-Est region, for example, is in the process of creating a compensation bank at the regional level. That's good, but it won't be enough. The law needs to be rewritten.

Is there a training issue, particularly in view of the expected wave of retirements?

In fact, we need 110,000 people trained in industrial trades every year, from vocational qualifications to bachelor's degrees. We currently train 125,000 people a year, but the tragedy is that half of them don't join the industry! Industrial trades remain very unattractive: in terms of image, we are stuck somewhere in the 1980s and 1990s. The progress made since then, particularly in terms of robotization (less physical strain), is little known. We need a communication campaign similar to what the army and craftsmen (the "leading profession in France") did twenty years ago, to explain to young people that industry has changed. We must also tell them that we are committed to offering them the same flexibility and work-life balance in a few years' time as they would find in the service sector.

At Vitabri in Besançon, a 180-degree turn

Emmanuel Musner, CEO of Vitabri (55 employees), joined the company in August 2015 and is the man who turned the business around five years ago. He recounts what has been a success story of reindustrialization.

A former printer and then supplier to Vitabri, the company he now runs in Besançon, Emmanuel Musner has successfully risen to the challenge of getting it back on track. In 2015, This family-owned SME was experiencing difficulties at the time. The market for quick-deploy folding tents is highly competitive and very globalized. , he asks right away. Together with his team, Emmanuel Musner begins by reviewing the strategy: The company was searching for its identity; we were selling both low-end and high-end products under the same brand name. I first smoothed out the obstacles, then repositioned Vitabri as a premium brand. And what's more, a premium brand that manufactures in France! It was a fundamental decision that triggered a long series of research and decisions. Starting in 2019, Emmanuel Musner and his team analyzed each of the components they use to manufacture their tents. "Most of them came from Asia. We decided to bring them closer together in order to secure our supplies," says the founder, who was proven right by the COVID-19 pandemic, which raised the issue of industrial sovereignty.

"You have to be prepared to lower your margins."

Today, all parts are designed by the in-house design office, and most of them come from France. This is the case for coated fabrics, but also for plastic parts, fasteners, and extruded aluminum tubes used in many of the brand's tents. We have also recently invested €400,000 to bring our tube machining in-house, develop skills within our team, and offer more and more specific products to our customers. , adds Emmanuel Musner.

Among the pleasant surprises: the fact that products made in France are not always more expensive. It depends on the type of parts and the quantity requested, says the executive. But in general, you have to be prepared to lower your margins. It is not the customer who will finance the transition. For some components, however, the price-quality ratio is so unfavorable that we are forced to continue importing them. Emmanuel Musner admits: "There are days when you feel a little lonely and angry when you see the unfair competition practiced by certain countries that flood the European market with low-cost products, or the low level of public procurement awarded to companies that manufacture in France. Price is still too often the main criterion for selection. All of this is inconsistent with the societal and environmental challenges we face," he says.

"Be patient and play as a team."

The leader would give two pieces of advice to his peers. The first: patience. We want to secure the transition, but selecting new suppliers in France and Europe takes time and energy. , he says. The second: surround yourself with the right people. Emmanuel Musner teamed up with his procurement manager, joined the French Industry Forces, and drew inspiration from the work of the Business Climate Convention. "Choosing to reindustrialize means thinking in the medium to long term. It means ensuring the company's long-term viability by addressing the issue of dependence on third parties, particularly China," he insists.

Vitabri sells to a diverse customer base: sports federations and brands, event providers, defense, emergency services, market traders, local authorities, craftsmen, and rental companies. We have never been in better shape, concludes Emmanuel Musner. We have become more innovative and more agile. We have achieved ISO 9001 certifications  and Guaranteed French origin , which complement each other very well and ensure that our customers receive high-quality tents manufactured in France. I believe that certification raises our standards. The company will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026.

Identify your allies
 

The 10 elements of the AFNOR toolkit

1. ISO 45001 : the voluntary standard for occupational health and safety management, for a sustainable and safe working environment.
2. The EFQM model : to adopt a commitment to excellence, with a reference framework updated for 2025.
3. Guaranteed French origin : certification attesting that your product derives its essential characteristics from France and that at least 50% of its cost price is French.
4. ISO 46001 : the voluntary standard providing guidelines for water resource management. Increasingly strategic for the agri-food industry, for example.
5. ISO 27001 : the voluntary standard for managing information security. Cybersecurity has become one of the foremost risks identified by leaders worldwide.
6. Tisax : the cybersecurity certification framework for the automotive industry
7. The Great AI Challenge : the program to define best practices for deploying trustworthy AI, entrusted to AFNOR by the public authorities. With manufacturers at the standardization table.
8. The DPP : the English acronym for digital product passport, a major issue in the industry
9. NF X32-001 : the voluntary standard for implementing a biodiversity protection approach, for reindustrialization without impact. Soon to be an ISO standard.
10. Risk mapping : an essential exercise to protect against supplier and subcontractor failures and reputational risks.