In Bourges, armaments factories shine the capital of Berry

Thanks to their massive hiring, two giants from the armament sector boost the whole city.

The city of Bourges, in the midst of an industrial revolution. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the armament industries have hired in turn in the capital of Berry. This is particularly where Caesar cannons or anti -aircraft missiles are manufactured. And thanks to this, Bourges and its 65,000 inhabitants are turning the page of four decades of deindustrialisation and demographic collapse.

To see this awakening of the Cher Prefecture, head to the terrace of a downtown restaurant, a stone’s throw from the cathedral, in the shade of half-timbered houses. Many young people are in this lively place, including young engineers, who work in the arms industry. This is the case of Alex, 26 years old. Parisian of origin, he left everything seven months ago to move in Bourges, a decision that surprised those around him: “The first reaction is Bourges, that’s where it already ? “”he recalls.

If Alex settled in Bourges, it was because he was convinced by his friend Clément, 25, an engineer also in armaments, and installed for seven years in the capital of Berry. “Bourges, seven years ago, it was a sleeping city that was not necessarily hyperdynamic, especially for young people, he explains. And little by little, we see that it energizes, that it is ‘playing’ and it’s great. You just have to look around us, there are many young people, a little in our case, which come out in Bourges, which do activities, which participate in cultural, sporting associations, etc. And it’s great because it is a city that was indeed asleep and wakes up well. “

Bourges wakes up thanks to massive hiring in the arms sector: there have been 500 recruitments since the start of the war in Ukraine among the two giants of the sector, Mbda and Knds. And, according to information from Franceinfo, the missile manufacturer and the gunner should hire 2,500 more people in the next five years.

The subcontractors of Mbda and Knds also hire massively. And construction companies rub their hands: on the outskirts of the city, armament production sites are growing. In the city center, a few shops, little by little, reopens like a chocolate factory, a cocktail bar, a caterer. Finally, the real estate sector is also growing. “We don’t complainAssures Louis Roussel, manager of a rental agency. We complain when there is not enough work, we’re going to complain when there is too much. “

He is a little overwhelmed by the influx of new customers: “It is sure, we have a demand that is much more important than the offer that can be offered today. A few years back, four or five years ago, we still had enough to answer and today, this is no longer the case at all.” And that should still be stretched in the real estate sector, since for the first time in 40 years, the demography curve is reversed. Bourges again won residents, around 600 last year.

The various left mayor of the city had not anticipated such an exponential growth. “Even me, as mayor of Bourges, sometimes I say to myself but it is not possible, it goes so quickly this acceleration of the defense industry”Sourine Yann Galut.

“There, today, we are in census work, adaptation of the city.”

Yann Galut, various left mayor of Bourges

in franceinfo

How to best welcome all these newcomers? This is the problem that the councilor tries to solve. “We have implemented, at the level of the agglomeration and the city, a support service called ‘Bourges, new life’. And we are extremely asked in this service by the defense industries who need to support families who arrive to find accommodation, to find a doctor, etc. explains Yann Galut. Me, for example, I wrote to Mbda and I wrote to KNDS a few days ago as mayor of Bourges, to ask them how much, according to you, you will need crèche places, how much, according to you, you will need school spaces ? ‘”

A city which is, moreover, already confronted with another major challenge: the reception of hundreds of thousands of tourists in 2028, the year when Bourges will become the European capital of culture.