according to Jean Viard, “there is an opportunity to move the state apparatus there”

The towers of the La Défense business district in Paris are emptying and investors are not rushing. The Covid effect has strongly impacted the sales prices of commercial premises. Decryption with sociologist Jean Viard.

According to a study, the towers of the La Défense business district in Paris are emptying, they are aging and investors are not rushing. Sociologist Jean Viard responds to Benjamin Fontaine.

franceinfo: Isn’t this ultimately a “natural cycle”?

Jean Viard: No, this is not a natural cycle. La Défense is really the large construction on slabs which represents the end of the 20th century, which is the largest in the world. It is a monument of concrete architecture from the end of the 20th century. We can think what we want about it, but it is a historical monument which must, in my opinion, be regarded as a monument. Afterwards, what is clear is that it is a place that worked well, that needed to be modernized and transformed.

It’s true that Covid has completely changed the problem. Teleworking has profoundly changed the practices of people who mostly in Île de France have one or two days of teleworking per week. So, companies have reduced their areas of rented property and by reducing them, they said to themselves: “if I have smaller areas for the same price, I can have something more prestigious”. And they rushed to the center of Paris where there are plenty of companies located, Paris where there are almost no offices available.

In La Défense, we are around 20% of offices available, a little less. And in all major metropolises, offices on the outskirts are often empty. There is enough space for around 400,000 housing units in these outlying offices.

And so there was a Covid effect also at Defense, ultimately?

That’s it, that is to say that people from La Défense often went to the city center because it is more prestigious, with smaller areas. People from the periphery have come to La Défense a little, but not a lot. And so, prices in La Défense have completely collapsed, since basically, before Covid, it was worth more than 6,000 euros per square meter, and now, it is worth less than 300 euros. This is a huge collapse.

There is therefore a need for a project for Defense, which is currently being sought from different sides. Today, in office investments in Île de France: La Défense is 8%, compared to 21% in 2019. On the other hand, Paris is 43%. Which means that there are investors who want to buy offices in downtown Paris, in prestigious neighborhoods.

To revitalize this La Défense district, at a time when we are talking about savings in the state budget, do you have a proposal?

Yes, as the Prime Minister said that he actually wanted to free up a certain number of prestigious buildings in Paris, there is an opportunity. Make Defense the major district of French ministries, offices, etc. It’s not always worth having offices, with gilding everywhere, which are 100 m2. And basically, to give a profound modernity to the French state apparatus.

And at the same time, obviously, freeing up a heritage, selling it in Paris, on the one hand, to very large companies looking for it, to also open its gardens: the garden of the Ministry of Agriculture, the garden of the Prime Minister , these are wonders that are reserved for very few people. And then obviously, make housing in a certain place. So, there is an opportunity to move the state apparatus to La Défense and to free up a whole part of the heritage of the most beautiful districts of Paris.

We remember that last year, the State sold more than 600 real estate properties for 280 million euros. Is this money that can be found quite easily, after all?

Yes, since at the moment, many companies are looking for offices, especially large companies that have the means. And what’s more, it’s a way, after the Olympic Games, where Paris has been so highlighted on a global level, the fact of opening a prestigious real estate park, where we saw the Olympic Games, it’s a way of fixing large French or international companies. And that’s important because prestige is also part of their location strategy.