The trouble with Insee, France’s national institute of statistics and economic studies, is that its figures are late. Or even very late. Such is the case with its survey entitled “Les dynamiques des marchés locaux du travail dans le Grand Est: équilibre entre mobilités, emploi et chômage” (“The dynamics of local labor markets in the Grand Est: balance between mobility, employment and unemployment”), published last week and which bases its reasoning on data collected over the period... 2008-2018.

What does the statistics institute have to say? The report published shows a fall in the number of people in work in the Grand Est region (2.6m people in 2018), with 9,000 fewer units over the period studied. The decline was -0.8% for Metz and -1.4% for Nancy. The notable exception is the Thionville area. Over ten years, this area has seen a 6% increase in the number of people who work.

Here’s the problem, according to Insee: at the same time, this same geographical area has conceded the loss of some 7,500 jobs. “As a result of this decline… Thionville is becoming more and more of a residential area, with only 55 jobs for every 100 working people in 2018,” notes the study, which draws a parallel with the increase in the number of cross-border employees. “The proportion of commuters among working people residing in the area has increased by 8.5 points in ten years, reaching 57% in 2018.”

“The territory was losing inhabitants”

For the mayor of Thionville and chairman of the Portes de France-Thionville conurbation, Pierre Cuny (Horizons party), there are two ways of looking at this. “The first element [relating to the increase in the working population] is very positive, because it confirms all the action taken over the last ten years,” stresses Cuny, who has been mayor since 2016. “I would remind you that between 2008 and 2014 (i.e., the term of office of the Socialist Bertrand Mertz, who is also a putative candidate in next year’s municipal elections in Metz, editor’s note], in the same geographical configuration, and with the same attractiveness of Luxembourg, the area was losing inhabitants. This study clearly shows that we have achieved something completely new in Thionville: a positive migratory balance and a previously deficit natural balance that is now also positive.”

“The second element,” observes Cuny, “is to say, ‘Be careful that the region--and Thionville in particular--does not become a dormitory town.’ Since 2016, I've been repeating that Thionville absolutely has to stand on its own two feet, with 50% of people employed in Luxembourg and 50% in the territory.”

And the mayor goes on to cite the establishment of the Japanese company Kubota (which works with agricultural tools) and the German company Knauf (a provider of building materials and systems for the construction industry) or a project to create a methanol plant as examples of the re-industrialisation of the region. “My vision and my analysis is that I need to continue very strongly to stabilise employment, but also to act on this residential economy,” he says. “Thionville and its territory are part of the area of attractiveness of the Luxembourg metropolis.”

“Residential activity” rather than “dormitory town”

“It’s quite natural for Thionville to develop a residential activity, contrary in fact to the notion of a ‘dormitory town,’” defends Cuny. “With the university, we’ve gone from 900 to practically 2,800 students, the health provision is top-of-the-range, the same is true with the cultural, sporting and community provision... It’s the opposite of a town where people just sleep and go off to spend money elsewhere.”

He highlights Thionville’s commercial appeal, explaining: “A dormitory town is a town that no longer has a town centre. We’ve gone from a vacancy rate of 24% to 8%. That’s colossal, and it shows just how far we’ve come in developing this residential economy. I know that around 80% of what cross-border commuters earn is spent--as far as retail is concerned--on our territory.”

Thionville and Val de Fensch “complementary”

In terms of attractiveness, Cuny has high expectations of the . This will become a reality early next year. The aim is “to promote access to employment, particularly in the industrial sector, where we will have to redevelop brownfield sites.” “We will be in a rather favourable situation, since we know that Luxembourg is very, very cautious about welcoming new industries,” he elaborates.

Is the new XL agglomeration a defensive or offensive project vis-à-vis the grand duchy? “Neither. More like a coherent, progressive project. When you look at the current mess in France, it’s good to be able to combine two local authorities of different political persuasions [the chairman of the Val de Fensch conurbation, Michel Liebgott, is affiliated with the Socialist Party, editor’s note] who are able to complement each other perfectly to create this great conurbation: one focused more on the residential and tertiary economy, the other on industry. We’re simply playing this complementary card in order to make the most of what can be gained from our proximity to our great neighbour Luxembourg, but also from the area, which has some extraordinary assets.”

With Luxembourg, a “win-win”

When asked whether the Insee figures reflect an excessive dependence on the grand duchy, Cuny dismisses the hypothesis. “I have always placed Thionville in a European space, there is no antagonism. There is a dependence on employment, yes, but in the same way that Luxembourg has a dependence on the north of the Moselle for labour. There is a form of win-win that still needs to be refined: I am clear, . Co-financing that now looks at the expenditure generated by the residentialisation of cross-border commuters in the territory.”

This article was originally published in .