“In Hérault, the building industry is experiencing a brutal and unprecedented crisis,” according to Gilbert Cobos, president of the building federation

Gilbert Cobos is worried about the construction sector if no strong political decision is taken. MIDI LIBRE – Y. PO.

The president of the FFB, the French construction federation of Hérault assures that 1,000 jobs have been lost in 2024 and if nothing is done, 2,000 jobs could disappear in 2025.

Already weakened by the health crisis, the construction industry is not doing well. Especially in Hérault, where it accounts for 10% of the department's GDP (gross domestic product) when it is only 6.5% nationally. “What the profession has been announcing for many years has happened: we are in the midst of a brutal and unprecedented crisis”, states Gilbert Cobos, president of the French Building Federation of Hérault (FFB 34).

All construction companies are affected. The fault lies with “the lowest production of new housing since 1950”, said the president. The 26,000 employees of the Hérault construction industry can be worried. According to the accounts of the FFB 34, 1,000 jobs were destroyed in 2024. “And if nothing is done in 2025, 2,000 jobs are threatened”, counts the entrepreneur.

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Waiting for strong political decisions

For Gilbert Cobos all the lights are in the red: the fault of the ZAN law (zero net artificialization), the end of MaPrimRenov', the elimination of zero-rate loans, the rise in interest rates, that of construction costs, the political uncertainty since the dissolution…. “Strong political decisions must be taken to restart construction, otherwise it will take years to recover”, Gilbert Cobos thunders.

Worse, the announcements by the Montpellier Metropolis, the Hérault Department and even the Occitanie Region to drastically reduce public investment are bad news. As for stopping markets that have already been scheduled: “Then that would be the final straw”, says the president of the FFB 34.

Which, during his wishes, nevertheless gave reasons to believe in it. First of all because of “the great resilience and our ability to adapt, with all the crises that we have experienced”, he says soberly. But he would especially appreciate a boost from real estate programs “whose share of vacant housing is much too low, at around 25%. When the rest is social housing, housing for first-time buyers and intermediate housing”. Not profitable enough for investors to be interested in a business where “the margin does not exceed 3 to 4%”.

The FFB 34 therefore relies on the decisions of decision-makers in the hope that the sector will recover, because when the construction industry is doing badly…

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