The groundswell of courage swept through the Entreprenariales
K. Wenger Published on 06/27/2025 at 6:16 p.m., updated on 06/27/2025 at 6:50 p.m.
This 24th edition—and its first in summer—of the Entreprenariales was a huge success on Thursday at the Allianz Riviera in Nice. People crowded the aisles and onto the stadium forecourt to discover the seven themed villages and the stands of the 165 exhibitors. The success of the business leaders' fair, sponsored by the Union for Business of the Alpes-Maritimes (UPE06), also owed much to the chosen theme: courage. Three high-profile speakers—General de Villiers, fencer Laura Flessel, and Arnaud Montebourg—gave their take on this value, which has become all too rare over the years, on the central stage.
Exemplary and authenticThe first to open fire was General Pierre de Villiers, former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, who, in 2017, had the courage to resign from his post following a disagreement over the French armed forces budget.
How does the Silent Mass, which sometimes calls for the ultimate sacrifice, manage to recruit and retain this generation Z, known for its disinvestment? "We hire 25,000 young people a year," the military man emphasizes. For this man of action— "and not of words" —"in a society where mistrust is everywhere and where authority is in crisis, we must give them confidence. And this is demonstrated by management that makes—good—sense. Authority, not to be confused with authoritarianism, is a subtle balance between benevolence and rigor."
Added to this is a third concept: strategy. "For young people to come and stay in the army, we must give them a vision that will become reality, talk to them about audacity and not about assistance or assurance." Do we have enough courage in France? The answer is unequivocal. "No! Because we don't teach it. With the breakdown of families, the resignation of part of the National Education system, and the crisis of authority, a majority of young people no longer have the fundamentals." For General de Villiers, there are two levels of courage. The first is the small courage that can be likened to the opposite of laziness. Great courage is knowing how to decide, make difficult decisions, and tell the truth. To prevent it from withering away, it must be nourished by exemplary behavior, authenticity, and passion.
The fourth nurturing value of courage is humility. "Many leaders believe they must be supercompetent: they're not expected to have answers to everything, as in Questions for a Champion , but to know where the competence lies and to love the subordinates who will give it to you."
Last piece of advice: "Maintain a work-life balance. You can't be a good leader in your professional life if you have an unbalanced rear base." At your command, General!
Look at your weaknesses and dream bigHumility is also very strong in Laura Flessel. "It takes it to face your weaknesses and know how to continue when everyone else stops," she insists. And she persevered, to the point of becoming a five-time Olympic champion in épée, then Minister of Sports in 2017 and an entrepreneur. "At 5 and a half years old, I dared to challenge my mother who saw me in a tutu and pointe shoes. I made her a counter-proposal with fencing. It wasn't a done deal, however, because the reality is that I am black, a woman in a competitive and elitist sport, but I always dreamed of being world number 1."
Driven by the challenge and through hard work, she succeeded. "I dared to seek solutions and be resilient. High-level athletes are no more courageous than others, but since they don't want to wait, they are in anticipation and action." While she doesn't like losing, she has learned to live with failure in order to keep going.
A clear courseWe remember him with his striped sweater, but Arnaud Montebourg denies being "a fundamentalist or an ayatollah of made in France, everyone does according to their financial means." For the former Minister of the Economy, Industrial Recovery and Digital Affairs, now an entrepreneur with, in particular, La Compagnie des Amandes, the issue of sovereignty is not incompatible with profitability and economic success.
While economic patriotism is a given in Germany, Japan, and the United States, "in France, we're still wondering whether we should defend the "Made in France" label. Yet, today, we're the bottom of Europe, with barely 10% of industrial GDP, compared to 23% in Germany. And the EU, which has cowardly become a digital colony of the United States, is our weakness," he says angrily. "We're being devoured by tech in the West and by consumer goods in the East; we're at the mercy of our adversaries without defending ourselves."
So what should we do? " All that's missing is a clear direction and a general mobilization to get back on track as we did in the past. The government needs to have a long-term, structuring vision. France has everything it needs to succeed: genius, science, entrepreneurs, and know-how." All that's left is to find the courage... and quickly!
This 24th edition of the Entreprenariales also saw the transfer of power between Pierre Ippolito and Franck Cannata at the helm of UPE06. The outgoing president took stock of his one and only term, which he too placed under the banner of courage and territorial commitment.
Three years of a "trying" mandate during which "we kept many campaign promises" , believes the outgoing president, proud to have assumed his convictions. Starting with the statutory modification of the employers' union, "with the opening of governance; which allowed us to have two candidates in this election" , he notes. In addition to the return to the single three-year mandate, "we also renewed 80% of the management team and reaffirmed the apolitical nature of our association" . Any political mandate in municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants is prohibited within the board of directors, the office and the presidency.
Assume your convictionsSatisfaction and a sense of accomplishment for Pierre Ippolito, who admits to frustration at not having managed to bring as many people as hoped into the spirit of general interest promoted by UPE06. "We need to increase collective commitment so that individual commitment requires fewer sacrifices," he analyzes. "Politicians are criticized for lacking courage, but the business world is no more courageous. The more we have to lose, the more courage becomes silent." He solemnly asks entrepreneurs to uphold their convictions "to succeed in changing our country. Without struggle, there is no true success or happiness. We have the capacity and the duty to act." For Pierre Ippolito, the number one enemy of the general interest is ego.
That's doneIn terms of achievements, the past president and his team can be proud of having initiated or helped organize 6 trade fairs in three years, 5 Territorial Economic Meetings (RET), 200 workshops - "that's one every three days" - , 150 networking events, 100 signed agreements and a brand new website. In terms of projects well advanced, UPE06 has created several clubs in very diverse fields: the Boost fund training managers in external growth - praised by Arnaud Montebourg who calls for it to be duplicated elsewhere -; the Defense Club; the UPE06 women's network to unite female entrepreneurship; the ETIncelles Club which brings together around fifteen ETIs in the region.
In progressAlso underway is the territorial responsibility of businesses and regional planning "by supporting the airport and defending the extension of the airport, the economic lung of the department" . The employers' union has tackled, with less success, several major issues such as mobility or housing for workers, "a major priority in our region" .
A spokesperson and advocate for businesses, Pierre Ippolito has also opposed any tax increases or—in vain—the regional mobility payment. While he is no longer president of UPE06, he is not idle. He will support his successor, Franck Cannata, if necessary and will take over as president of the Club ETIncelles Sud. "I also have a business to run," he recalls.
For the rest [he had mentioned his interest in leading a team for the 2026 NCA ICC elections] , "If I consider that there is a place where I can be useful in making a change, I will weigh the pros and cons."
To be continued.
Franck Cannata, founder and CEO of the Carros-based transport and logistics company Transcan, made his first official speech as president of the UPE06. He paid tribute to Marielle Walicki, his unsuccessful rival, and to Pierre Ippolito for his work over the past three years, particularly in uniting all the professional unions.
"It's a source of pride to take up the baton." He pledges to preserve this legacy by uniting all professional unions, to continue the "feminization of our bodies and to work towards parity while developing partnerships with associations of women business leaders." Another area of work in line with his predecessor is developing the entrepreneurial spirit among young people. His term of office will also be marked by change. That of the economy and society, which is materialized by four fundamental ruptures - climate, innovation, technological progress and financing. And to castigate the "normative delusions that complicate and slow down each of our actions." The Cannata method? Co-construction. "We are at the beginning of the third industrial revolution, which will disrupt everything in its path. Our companies must absolutely embrace AI and cybersecurity, or risk seeing their existence threatened," he asserts.
Too much tax kills tax and too many charges kill businesses
It is also the end of happy globalization and "the successive crises of recent years will place at the heart of the debates the questions of sovereignty, dependence on strategic materials and products and industrial relocation on our territory. A major paradigm shift that we absolutely must understand and integrate into our businesses as well."
Without forgetting to combat the societal breakdown due to the aging of the population and the major concerns that society is experiencing, whether they concern national political institutions or the uncertain international situation.
Another major topic of the mandate is the territorial ecological transition. The new president will ensure the preservation of water resources, the control of energy costs, and the management of waste from economic activities. All this while working on concrete solutions for our businesses. His roadmap would not be complete without reviewing administrative simplification and taxation. "Too much tax kills taxes, and too many charges kill businesses and therefore jobs." Because businesses can no longer constantly be the adjustment variable. Finally, he will work on regional planning. "Housing and mobility are central elements for the attractiveness, access to employment, and economic development of our department." To the courage, the common thread of the Entreprenariales, he is keen to add the word responsibility, "two words that characterize my state of mind and that express the meaning of my action, of our common action."
Var-Matin
