Who will chair UPE06?

On June 5, elections will take place for the presidency of the Union for Business of the Alpes-Maritimes (UPE06). The two declared candidates, guests on Friday's L'Interview à la Une program on Nice-Matin, defended their vision of the Côte d'Azur employers' union and its work in the region. The first candidate to succeed Pierre Ippolito is a business lawyer. Co-founder of the WABG firm based in Nice, Mougins, and Paris, Marielle Walicki knows the workings of the businesses she defends daily in her profession and has a long history of community involvement.

The second candidate, Franck Cannata, is the founder and director of the transport and logistics company Transcan in Carros. He is also president of the National Federation of Road Transport (FNTR) 06 and 83, which leads him to pay close attention to the issue of decarbonization. They are two different profiles, but their programs are largely in line with the one led for the past three years by the current president. While also opening new projects to better serve business leaders.

Taxation

With a view to simplifying the lives of entrepreneurs, Marielle Walicki proposes that the UPE06 be "a beacon guiding leaders in a world full of economic and financial uncertainties" .

To do this, she proposes the establishment of a one-stop shop to facilitate communication with local tax administration stakeholders. "We can't change the legislation, but we can decode it to better understand it and adapt it to our businesses. In short, provide education and training." Franck Cannata echoes the same sentiment. " Simplifying taxation is good, but reducing it is better. Businesses need taxation, which in France is at a record high in this area, to be lowered." He cites the Regional Mobility Payment [0.15% of payroll for businesses with more than 11 employees] recently decided by the South Region, " which further penalizes the competitiveness of our businesses by reducing their margins." "Businesses of all sizes, even if it only concerns one category, must show solidarity to make themselves heard," adds Marielle Walicki.

Accommodation

Another problem encountered by entrepreneurs is recruitment, due to the lack of sufficient housing for workers. This issue has become a priority in recent years. In her program, the Nice lawyer, aware of the scarcity and high cost of property, advocates creating a Territorial Real Estate Investment Fund that "would bring together public authorities, businesses, and various federations to prioritize the establishment and construction of housing for our workers."

The Transcan director, for his part, imagines the implementation of public housing schemes, for seasonal workers for example, and also suggests social rental usufruct. "This would create wealth, house our employees in ideal conditions while providing a sustainable investment for companies that would have reservation rights. At the time, " he recalls, "Michelin housed its employees. Just like the market gardeners of the Var plain. Today, it is necessary that housing be available for the workers who make our region rich."

Training

A corollary of recruitment is training. Marielle Walicki, for her part, does not advocate "a dogmatic approach because SMEs, mid-sized companies, and micro-enterprises do not have the same needs; we must take stock of the situation and also train managers" using existing tools. This is also a priority for the Côte d'Azur executive, who emphasizes the need "to have training and curricula adapted to the needs of the economic fabric. It is essential that work returns to the heart of our ecosystem and that a worker is properly paid for their work."

Mobility

The department's black spot: mobility. Franck Cannata and Marielle Walicki both want to pursue the tram-metro project between Nice and Monaco, championed by Pierre Ippolito. "A structuring project, large-scale and essential to opening up the center of the department, that is, the airport, the economic heart of the Côte d'Azur," believes Franck Cannata. "And also to relieve commuter congestion because we must meet the needs of workers." The cost of this colossal project "will be amortized over a hundred years, like all major projects like those of the time: highways, bridges, civil engineering structures..." In the meantime, Marielle Walicki suggests implementing a whole series of pragmatic, immediate and inexpensive arrangements: "delaying delivery times, encouraging employee carpooling which creates connections and solidarity within the company... These are just drops in the ocean," she admits, " but they already allow for immediate awareness."

Ecology - CSR

"Rather than punishing business leaders for having a CSR policy, we need to encourage them and explain the economic, environmental and societal issues to them," argues the lawyer. "It's above all common sense and we also need to come up with tax benefits rather than systematically taxing more," insists Franck Cannata, who proposes in his program to install photovoltaic panels on company roofs and to pool their consumption.

Competitiveness - growth

Marielle Walicki's hobbyhorse is business transfer. "The UPE06 must be the catalyst and unite the initiatives taken in the various consular chambers. We only want one thing: for our businesses to improve, and quickly." Why not by leveraging artificial intelligence? The candidate proposes the creation of a Tech and AI Investment Fund. Franck Cannata, for his part, wants to strengthen the employer brand by pooling employee services, such as shared daycare centers. "This is what we call RTE: corporate territorial responsibility."