“Proud of Troyes”. This slogan which is displayed in the corridors of the metro, in the stations of Ile-de-France, on the pages of magazines and on the Web says a lot about the state of mind which reigns today in the prefecture. of Dawn. The city of some 60,000 inhabitants thinks it is attractive and intends to make it known in the capital, accessible in just over an hour and a half by train. With the hope of seducing Ile-de-France residents who have decided, since the Covid pandemic, to find another base.
Its assets to attract them? An all-in-one and almost turnkey solution to welcome new residents. Francis Bécard, delegate municipal councilor in charge of territorial marketing and new technologies, explains: “Once our town center was renovated, we knew that Troyes was attractive. We then began to put in place a concrete strategy to facilitate the arrival of carriers of projects, relying on the Plug & Start operation, which aims to support the establishment of start-ups in the territory. Over the past four years, we have used this system to get in touch with hospitality and refine our We are now ready to welcome families at all levels: crèches, schools, housing, employment of the spouse… In short, we offer all the services that a person arriving from outside is looking for.”
“The square meter in the old costs less than 2000 euros!”
The elected official details: “We have created a management club which brings together the leaders of the main public and private structures in the city to allow the two members of the couple to find work. We have increased the number of our nurseries, which was insufficient. We have also networked school information so that parents of young children can know immediately where to find an available place as close as possible to their home.”
Last point of this reception strategy thought out as a whole: the networking of real estate agencies in the city. “Now that all of this is settled, we are going to broaden our approach by targeting senior executives, the liberal professions and health practitioners aged 25 to 40,” continues the elected official.
Next project on which the city intends to work: its offer in terms of health. However, other points still need to be improved: security, the variety of the university offer, the number of sports facilities, etc. The town also suffers from structural disadvantages, such as the distance from the sea and the mountains or capricious weather. Not enough, however, to dampen the enthusiasm of Francis Bécard: “Here, the square meter in the old one costs less than 2,000 euros. For a small Parisian studio, you have a mini-palace in Troyes. And that for less two hours from Paris!” Definitely “proud of Troyes”.