La Communauté d'Agglomération de Vichy: les chiffres-clés

The Allier's central geographical location places it at the crossroads of major European transit routes. Its surface area of 7,340 km² constitutes an excellent transition plateau between the northern flatlands and the mountains of the Massif Central.

The Auvergne has a dense road network: 5,323 km of secondary roads; 8,352 km of local and country roads, 230 km of main roads; and 111.5 km of motorways.

North/South axes:

A71 (slip road from Gannat) and A72 (Paris/Clermont-Ferrand/Lyon), A75 (Paris/Mediterranean/Spain), A77 (Paris/Mediterranean), RN9 and RN7 (mostly dual carriageway between Varennes-sur-Allier and Paris).
The RN7 national road is an essential transit route for the Nièvre, the Allier and the Loire regions, crossing through major areas of employment. Currently, politicians and other representatives are jointly trying to obtain funding to extend the dual carriageway over the entire 243 kilometres, to create an alternative route to the A6 motorway between Paris and Lyon by 2013. Work is progressing satisfactorily and in 2007, the state released 1.6 million to create a dual carriageway between Moulins and Villeneuve-sur-Allier (due for completion in 2009).

East/West Axes:

The CEAR (Centre, Europe, Atlantic Road) road between Mâcon and La Rochelle, which connects the Atlantic coast to Germany, Switzerland and Italy, is undergoing development work. The Lamaids detour has just been completed, and the Montluçon bypass has been started.
The section of the A89 between Clermont-Ferrand and Bordeaux will be finalized next year. Now connected to the A71 about twenty kilometres south of Gannat, this motorway will complete the arc connecting the motorways from the Atlantic coast with those leading into Germany and Italy.

A Clear Desire to Improve Accessibility of the Region.

In 2007, the Government increased its grant assistance five-fold, releasing a total of 71.4 million to modernize the CEAR, the RN7 and the RN209.
The development of road, train and air transport is one of the territorial priorities. The Clermont-Ferrand/Vichy/Lyon and Montluçon/Vierzon train lines are currently being updated, as were the main roads, under an agreement between the Region and the Department ( 6 million over 3 years). Work is also currently underway in Moulins and Vichy to facilitate links between the various means of transport using inter-modal poles. It is also planned to carry out feasibility studies on the Allier airfields.

The Allier has now made up for lost time on IT infrastructure, with high-speed Internet now available in over 96% of the Department. A grant of 13.0 million (from the Department and the Region) will be used within the framework of a private/public partnership to ensure 100% coverage by 2008.

Encouraging the Demographic Trend

Over the last 10 years, the Allier has attracted over 40,000 people from other Departments, i.e., no less than 12% of its population.
Recent population surveys carried out by the French Central Statistics Office (INSEE) between 2004 and 2006, show that there is positive net migration. This is the first time since the 70's that this has happened, with almost 1,500 new arrivals setting up home each year in the Allier, mainly in the suburban areas.

Drawing on these encouraging statistics, the Allier would like to inverse the current overall population falloff, caused by a declining birthrate. The imbalance between a birthrate of 9.8% (12.7% for France) and a mortality rate of 12% (8.4% for France) is causing this mismatch, which is however getting smaller. In fact, the population drop-off for the entire Allier region since 1999 is only 0.14% (as opposed to 0.41% between 1982 and 1999). The year 2006 saw 3,427 births, one of the highest figures over the last decade.

Increasing Number of Senior Citizens

With a population of 342,300, no less than 31.8% are over 60 years old, compared with 20.7% at national level. In other words, a third of the Allier population has already gone beyond the 60-year-old barrier.
A new departmental program has been developed to assist these 100,000 senior citizens (whose numbers will be increasing): home-help actions will be rolled out by 2015 and 400 additional spaces will be created in senior citizen residences. This will lead to the creation of several hundreds of new jobs.
Widescale retirement will also encourage the passing-on of the company management to new people, be it within the same family, or from employer to employees, or by an external party coming in. In fact, over 3,000 manual and commercial undertakings will be coming up for ownership transfer within the next 10 years. Efforts are being made to encourage new company managers and their families to set up in the Allier, one aspect of which involves special grants for moving into the region.
The increasing demand for services and retirements will naturally lead to vacancies for younger people. As a result, 63 out of every 100 young people between 20 and 24 years old are active on the work market, which is 10 points higher than the rest of the Auvergne and France.

Falling Unemployment

The most recent statistics published by the DARES and the French Central Statistics Office INSEE show that lively economic growth has caused unemployment figures to fall, essentially in the services sector.
With an unemployment rate of 8.6% in January 2007, the Allier is comparable to the French average. Over the space of one year, this unemployment rate has fallen at a rate of 5.7%, which is slightly above the 5.5% rate of fall at a regional level.
Also during 2006, the number of women seeking employment in the Allier fell by 6.1%, and the number of men by 10.3%. The number of young people seeking employment (i.e., the under 25s) fell by 9%.

No less than 25% of all Auvergne business undertakings are based in the Allier
The 129,854 jobs are mainly distributed over the three urban areas in the territory: Vichy and the surrounding area is the leading economic centre of the Department, ahead of Montluçon and Moulins.

A Reasonable Tax Level

Since 2001, the Allier is one of the Departments with the lowest tax rate increases, with the tax rate increasing only 15.5% as opposed to 18.08% nationally. Approved without any increase in the tax rate, the 2007 budget will enable the Department to maintain its positive reputation as one of the French Departments with the lowest tax. This is naturally a major consideration, both for companies and private individuals.
Moreover, there is a smaller difference between the highest and the lowest salaries in the Allier than at a national level. In other words, unqualified workers in the Allier earn more than their counterparts at a national level.

External Trade Focused on European-level Transactions

The Allier's strategic geographic position at European level explains the ever-increasing quantity of exchanges with the European Union, in particular Germany and Italy, as well as the United Kingdom (food and animal foodstuffs). Naturally, the other continents are also present, but the volume of exchanges is lower.
Import figures for 2005 showed the total value of Allier imports at 885 million, with exports standing at 1,295 million. This trade surplus represents an increase over 2004 figures.
The Allier is the second most important regional player in this respect, accounting for almost 25% of commercial exchanges within the Auvergne.

A Rich Economic Tissue

Out of the 14,927 companies based in the Allier, 3,727 are in Industry and Construction, representing 25% of the Department's economic activity.
The number of people employed in Industry has increased by 4% over the last 10 years. The region is very proud of its expertise in the fields of chemical, rubber, plastics, metalworking, electric and electronic components.
The food-processing industry is also growing steadily, with a high level of productivity and a good reputation.
Skills poles have also developed in specialized sectors such as biotechnologies and cosmetics (Vichy), electro-mechanics (Montluçon) and food processing (Moulins).

The industrial sector is in fine health, accounting for 20% of total employment, which is above the French average (18%).
Likewise, the Service sector is growing: 16% of the working population are employed by the 2,373 establishments which provide services to companies, as well as transport and real estate, with 17% working in private customer services, and 13% employed in health, education and social action, where female employees are especially present. In total, this accounts for 46% of employees working in a strongly growing sector.

Commercial activity is also stable, with 4,403 establishments accounting for 29% of jobs. However, consumers are rather cautious at the moment, and the overall sales of retailers in the Allier increased by a modest 0.3% during 2006 (which is nevertheless the best result for the region) which represents a fall compared to the previous year's 1.0% increase.
The agri-food sector is returning the best results (+1.4%). This is essentially beneficial to large-scale distribution and the main Allier urban areas, but has rather detrimental effects on the local retailers in rural areas. The development of e-retailing, with national Internet leaders is also significant.

Agriculture, the third most important activity in the Department, accounts for 66% of the overall territory.
Forests cover 22% of the area, generating a dynamic forestry industry.
The 6,132 farms, with an average holding of 82 hectares, focus on quality. In fact, the Allier is the leader in France for the quality of its organic products, and has no fewer than 7 red label quality certificates. The number of requests for AOC certification is also increasing, and 75% of livestock breeders rear suckler cattle, with the Department in second place on a national level.
With almost 200 farms coming up for hand-over each year, it is important that the necessary preparatory measures be taken.

Of note is the survival rate of Allier companies after five years, which is significantly higher than the national average (50.8%): of 100 companies created, 59 are still in activity after five years, all sectors included.

Keen to optimize its natural assets, the Allier is also focusing on tourism, a net contributor to the economy, with average turnover estimated at 250 million, concerning 3,000 direct employments. Since April 2007, a major, national advertising campaign has been rolled out to promote the "Dolce Vita" in the region.

Haut

Created six years ago, the Vichy Val d'Allier Urban Community ("VVA") is the largest in the Department. The Committee is located in the Vichy employment area, with a population of almost 110,000 spread out over 81 communities, of which 65 are essentially rural, and of which 40 have a population of less than 500.

A reinforced partnership with the regional urban area

The geographical location of the urban community means that it can have excellent exchanges with the Clermont region, which is naturally a positive factor in boosting development.
This is the background to the VVA participation in the Clermont-Auvergne network, which is particularly active on concerted action projects such as the Auvergne biocluster, in which the Bio-Business Park (Bioparc Vichy) is involved, or the installation of very high-speed Internet with a speed of 8 to 10 Mbps in the VVA.

As regards tourism, Val d'Allier constitutes the federating link in this urban region, with Vichy increasingly promoting itself as a top-range vacation resort amongst the thermal spa towns.

VVA Key Figures:

- Vichy Val d'Allier counts 23 communities. They are: Abrest, Bellerive-sur-Allier, Billy, Bost, Brugheas, Busset, Charmeil, Cognat-Lyonne, Creuzier-le-Neuf, Creuzier-le-Vieux, Cusset, Espinasse-Vozelle, Hauterive, Le Vernet, Magnet, Mariol, Saint-Germain des Fossés, Saint-Rémy en Rollat, Saint-Yorre, Serbannes, Seuillet, Vendat and Vichy.
- 7 of these communities have a population of more than 2000:
- Vichy (27,714)
- Cusset (13,385)
- Bellerive-sur-Allier (8,448)
- Saint-Germain-des-Fossés (3,727)
- Saint-Yorre (3,003)
- Creuzier-le-Vieux (2,960)
- Abrest (2,428)
- Total population is 79,000 with over half the population living in Vichy and Cusset
- Total surface area is 327.5 km²
- Population density is 228 persons per km²
- Over 5000 registered businesses (retailing, industry, construction, services, agriculture)
- There are 29 000 registered job positions in the territory, with about 20 companies employing over 100 people (mainly the industrial sector)

A dynamic and diversified industrial activity

Whereas industrial activity accounts for slightly over 16% of the French average, it accounts for 20% of total employment in the VVA, which naturally impacts significantly on the local employment market.
And even though some industrial activities are currently experiencing problems, other activities, such as plastics engineering, are growing steadily, with the latter accounting for about 20 companies and 650 jobs in the Vichy work area, with this physical closeness to each other creating significant levels of synergy.

With over 400 industrial companies, VVA constitutes the second regional urban concentration, with a host of business activities:

Health & Beauty: Cosmétique Active Production (500 jobs in Creuzier-le-Vieux on the site of the Oréal group), Unither Créapharm in Gannat, as well as the Vichy Bio-Business Park in Hauterive (7 Med Industrie, Naturetis, JCE Biotechnology, Vectec, Vichy Medical Product).
The three thermal spa centers in Vichy (Les Célestins, Les Dômes and Callou) play an important role in highlighting this activity.

Other activities include: plastics engineering (with CTL Packaging, Wavin France SAS, Zeller Plastik France); electronics (Electronica, Nizerolles Systèmes Electroniques, Labinal); metal working (Les Profilés du Centre, Valmont-Sermeto); automobile (Ligier, CGR Saint-Yorre, equipment manufacturer Don Foster Technologies, Applifil).

The Agri-Food sector is also represented: Moinet Vichy Santé, Société Nouvelle des Pastilles de Vichy, Comptoir européen de la confiserie, Arrivé, Forez Porc, SCBV Mineral Water, Capryl).

The luxury leather industry is also well represented: Europ'Ecrins SA, Sofama in Espinasse-Vozelle, Manufacture bourbonnaise de Maroquinerie in Bellerive-sur-Allier and two Vuitton plants in St-Pourçain-sur-Sioule.

The Construction sector (Peintamélec Construction, Planche SA, Sigma Entreprises, Réolon-Suchet).

These are just some examples of the rich industrial fabric of the region.

There are industrial areas as well as several business parks:

Vichy Bio-Business Park in Hauterive (www.bioparc.com)
Specialized in Health, Beauty and Fitness, this business park is the fruit of a partnership with the Montluçon-Gannat Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The original idea consisted in setting aside 1,600 m² of premises to meet requests to set up new business undertakings. In 2006, new companies started operating inside the Park and 2,000 m² of premises were delivered. Major renovations were undertaken for the Park's 10th anniversary (access, lighting, etc.). At the moment, the Park contains 18 companies with 160 jobs spread out over the 25 hectares (which can be extended to 45 hectares, if required).

- Cusset Industrial Zone
- Croix des Vernes Business Park; Bois des Jarraux (Saint-Yorre)
- Croix Saint-Martin Business Park (Vichy)
- Le Coquet Industrial Business Park (Seuillet /Saint-Germain-des-Fossés) which has recently been extended
- Ancises Business Park (Creuzier-le-Neuf)
This Park has been extended and freshly landscaped. VVA's support played a key role in developing an International Logistics platform for Oréal-Vichy (16,000 m² of premises).
- Vichy Rhue Business Park (Creuzier-le-Vieux)
- Les Bats (Saint Rémy-en-Rollat)
- Davayat Business Park (20 hectares in Saint Rémy-en-Rollat)
- La Tour (Abrest)
- La Boucharde (Brugheas)
- Les Combes, Contrée des Fonds Vilains (Le Vernet)
- Champcourt, Contrée de Gauvin (Cusset)

Good health of the service sector

The service sector generates the greatest number of jobs and shows the best economic growth.
Not only is the number of managerial-level positions constantly increasing, the number of intermediate professions and operative-level vacancies is also growing steadily.
In fact, regardless of the activity (commercial, services to companies or households), the number of people employed is constantly increasing, and there is every reason to believe that this will continue over the forthcoming years.

This expansion concerns the following: consultancy and assistance to business undertakings; operational services; and social action, education and health (more oriented towards household consumption).

Also of note is the company Karavel, active in the tourism and online retail sectors, which has been in Vichy since 2005, and is expected to lead to the creation of 200 jobs over the next three years. Other business undertakings of note in the Information Technologies and Communications sectors are: NSE (400 jobs in Abrest); Satel (150 jobs) and Percall (about 100 jobs planned for Cusset).

The above growth examples, although impressive, will not suffice to meet expected future requirements, and new jobs will have to be created in these sectors of activity. The attendant necessary urban development and transport infrastructure works are currently being carried out.
A Services Pole Project covering 8,000 m² of offices on the site of a former bottling plant will be finalized at the end of 2007. Located at the entry to Vichy, adjacent to the future Intermodal Exchange Station, this will encourage the diversification of economic activities in the area.
This initiative was launched by the Urban Community; it will consist of 18 months of renovation work, leading to the creation of offices of between 20 to 200 m², as well as urban areas covering 400 to 1,000 m², and a business cent to provide customized services to companies for the desired duration.
The Services Pole will also contain a business-Incubator centre, a Business Centre, a "Business Hotel", a car park, social housing, and a residence for young workers. The total investment is 14 million, covering a surface area of 22,000 m².
On the health front, the new Mother & Child Unit in the Vichy Hospital Centre is the only maternity unit in the area. Fitted with the most recent technology, it has a capacity of 1,100 to 1,200 births each year.

A vigorous University Centre

With almost 500 students, in addition to trainees from 115 countries as part of a program organized by the CAVILAM (4,600 per year) to learn the French language, the Vichy University & Technology Pole (PUTV) operates in partnership with the Blaise Pascal University and the Montluçon Technological University Institute (IUT), training technicians and advanced graduates in about a dozen sectors of activity.
Resolutely oriented towards the health, ICT and international commerce professions, the PUTV makes a significant contribution to local development. Last October saw the creation (in partnership with the University of Clermont) of a new degree course to train specialist retailers of multimedia and telecommunications products and services.
The Orangerie Media Library has a repertory of over 6,000 works, available for consultation in the reading room, as well as a multimedia room.
In addition to the University, Vichy has training courses for post-secondary studies, with almost 1,500 students, focusing on information technologies, communications, services, etc.

This very promising services sector can call on a dense commercial network, especially in Vichy where retailers are open on a Sunday (inevitable given the town's status as a spa resort).
The town centre has been renovated and there are walkways along the shopping facilities bordering the parks with a large number of outlets, bringing in customers from a wide catchment area.

In November 2006, the entirely renovated Vichy Indoor Market opened its doors. An entirely glass structure, covering 6,800 m², the Market sells a host of food products (43 permanent retailers) and local products, with the "Couleurs de la Ferme" Farmfresh Food Association, federating 80 producers and the local tourist board. The federation won the Territoria award handed out by the French Senate and the Observatory for public innovation.
In addition, a program is being implemented to supports small communities in order to help local retailers remain in business (Le Vernet, Magnet).

The development of transport, a major challenge.

The Intermodal Exchange Station is scheduled to open its doors in spring 2008 on the site of the former Vichy Station right in the town centre. Initial work has started, with the extension of the underground representing the first step of the construction work. Demolition and renovation work is expected to continue for over 15 months, without interrupting the current train service.
When this work has been completed, it will represent a marked improvement for transport in both Vichy and the Allier, not only for trains, but also for buses, the Allier regional coaches (TER), taxis, bicycles and cars. The total cost of the renovation work is 11 million.
As a further sign of the area's intention to increase general accessibility and transport, the Bus Inter new transport system was launched in 2006, and the Mobilval transport-on-demand system may be extended over Pays de Vichy-Auvergne.
Scheduled for completion in 2011, the South/West (18.4 km from Saint Yorre to Bellerive/Allier) and North/West (Bellerive/Allier to Saint Rémy-en-Rollat) bypasses, plus the extension of the road serving the A71 motorway on the outskirts of Vichy (future slip road Gannat-Vichy) will connect the Allier to the main strategic road axes, whilst limiting HGV Traffic.

An excellent quality of life

Further advantages of Vichy include the general style of life, with a lively cultural and sporting scene, which Vichy fully intends to encourage.

To encourage environmental protection, a key consideration, the selective collection of waste is being phased in. Already operational in Vichy, Cusset and Bellerive, it enabled the recycling of 14,033 tonnes during the first four years.
The sanitation network covering 36 km, newly created or renovated, is now linked to the new Vichy-Rhue sanitation plant which processes the wastewater of almost 70% of the population.

An excellent cultural and sporting scene

The area offers a wide range of sports facilities, generating significant economic spin-offs:
With two 18-hole golf courses, a horseracing track, and a renovated horse arena (where international horse jumping competitions are held each year), the area's rich natural heritage encourages outdoor activities.

Work was done on the banks of the Allier river to facilitate rowing, sailing, water skiing and jet skiing along the pedestrianised banks, a favourite destination for walkers and joggers.
The international multipurpose sports complex includes football/rugby stadiums, tennis courts, as well as rooms for firearms sports, judo and basketball.
Professionals and amateurs alike have access to top-level infrastructure, some of which has been significantly renovated. The players of the JAV are a top-level team present in Pro A, and the many fans of basketball appreciate the brand new facility.
The Darragon municipal Stadium for rugby and football has also been extensively renovated, and was proud to host the Under-21 Rugby World Cup in June 2006.
In total, about 50 different sports disciplines can be practiced, in addition to which competitions and events are organized regularly.

The start of the horseracing season in May 2007 saw the integration of "Le Lac d'Allier", a new stand on stilts consisting in two floors for horseracing professionals and companies or associations organizing horseracing social evenings, in an area which is both functional as well as "VIP" with a capacity of 300 people.
Managed by the Racing Society, the Vichy horseracing track plans to rival with better-known venues such as Longchamp, Deauville and Vincennes. With 130,000 visitors coming each year from May to September, the track runs 45 harness and flat gallop races (36 as part of the PMU), with some happening late evening, generating a total turnover of almost 200 million. The "Grande Semaine du Galop" which takes place during the third week of July is the highlight of the season.
Vichy-Val d'Allier is also proud of its swimming complex, located on the former pigeon shooting site in Bellerive. To be completed at the end of 2007, this 21 million euro complex will have two separate swimming areas: The first area, with a pool measuring 25 x 21 meters, for "real swimmers" will have bleachers in line with the standards of the French Swimming Federation; and the second area, more for "leisure simmers", will have a number of smaller pools and fun activities, with a fully equipped Health and Fitness centre upstairs.

The sports complex will also have a 50 x 21-meter pool with modular bleachers, where top-level competitions and training sessions for national teams can be handled.
This combination of sports activities, for professionals and amateurs alike, is part of the development of the Sports Plateau, the 3rd largest of its kind in Europe covering over 500 hectares, totally dedicated to sport.

Thanks to the Sports Plateau, rich in technical and human resources, VVA can apply to host major sports events, for crowds of up to 18,000. As part of this program, the artificial river will be renovated, in order to enhance its chances of organising the Kayak World Championship scheduled for 2011.

The quality of its exceptional infrastructures is being continually enhanced, and the CREPS residential sports training centre is also being constantly modernized to host more international teams, and form the young stars of tomorrow in a host of disciplines (football, boxing, etc.). It is already a popular training centre for national teams, such as the Metz and Lens football teams, who are just two of about 20 football clubs to come to the CREPS for intensive training courses during the 2007/2008 season.
Each year, almost 3,000 candidates take place in the final CAPEPS Selections, and about 20 national and international championships are organized in a host of disciplines: athletics, rowing, fencing, tennis and French bowls.
The star event for 2007 was the French cross-country championship in March under the auspices of the French cross-country body, followed by the cross-country event of the fire brigade.

Sports events are the biggest generator of hotel stays in Vichy, accounting for 120,000 nights each year. However, people coming to conferences, trade fairs and similar events also make a significant contribution with about 40 hotels catering to their requirements; the total number of nights accounted for by trade fairs and business visitors is 74,000 per year (60,000 for people coming to the thermal baths).

Surrounded by beautiful parks, the Vichy Opera House Conference centre plays host to a large number of national and international events: conferences, trade fairs, seminars, public debates, and so on.
In 2007, three trade fairs were organized simultaneously (Proxima Vert, Proxima Sport and Proxima Voirie) which brought together contract givers and service providers from a wide selection of municipalities and towns.
On a similar note, the national Congresses of football referees and rugby referees underline the synergy currently developing between sports tourism and business tourism.
Other significant names who chose VVA include: De Vinci Energie group with its annual convention; INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) with an international symposium on metabolism; special needs educators for their 17th national Congress; Nutravita (natural health products) organized meetings dedicated to obesity.
With all the necessary modern technologies and infrastructure in an original setting, its old-style rooms renovated to replicate the original (such as the Napoleon III room; or the Eugénie Auditorium, installed on the site of the current theatre) have a capacity of almost 500 people.
The region is understandably proud of the Vichy Opera House which operates all year round with a rich and varied program, featuring both theatre, music and dance. International artists have performed in the magnificent Art Nouveau room, inaugurated 1903, sumptuously decorated and with excellent acoustics.
Since 2004, the Rencontres Lyriques Européennes Opera Festival, organized during September and October, has been growing in stature.

Encouraging the development of Tourism and Thermal Spa visits :

The "Allier: ma Dolce Vita à moi" exemplifies an initiative undertaken by Vichy to modernize the popular mental image of the town and its thermal bath reputation.
Urban renovation works have also been undertaken (lighting, appearance, landscaping) including the creation of a landscaped walking route along the boulevard de Lattre-de-Tassigny. This Esplanade of the Allier lake, a natural continuation of the parks, will be open for appreciation by walkers and cyclists from summer 2008.
Just around the corner, the Michelin-rated chef Jacques Décoret prepares unforgettable cuisine in one of the chalets built by Napoleon 3, an emblem of the town's architectural (and now gastronomic) heritage.
The goal of the recently launched "Lose Weight in Vichy" ("Maigrir à Vichy") is to bring spa treatments more in line with the current demand, combining dietary and sporting practices with traditional spa water treatments.

There are plans to create a spa leisure centre, based on a partnership between spa operators, the tourist board and 9 hotels (including their chefs!) the most active in this sector.
And, when one considers that obesity is becoming a global problem, Vichy stands to gain from future developments in this highly profitable aspect of the health and beauty sector.

The Vichy Val d'Allier: An Urban Area on the Move