{"id":97555,"date":"2020-06-26T11:05:17","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T09:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=97555"},"modified":"2022-10-17T16:19:53","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T14:19:53","slug":"butcher-interview-paris-la-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/butcher-interview-paris-la-defense","title":{"rendered":"Interview with : Franck Boucher, Director of Attractiveness at Paris La D\u00e9fense"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the recovery has begun, is the upturn in activity noticeable in the La D\u00e9fense district?<\/h3>\n

Franck Boucher -<\/strong> The comeback is gradual, but things are starting to move. You can see it in the figures for people using the transport network, but also in the number of people in the shops and on the restaurant terraces. The C\u0153ur D\u00e9fense building, where we have our offices, for example, has exceeded 30 % employees and the company restaurant has reopened. Before the summer, we will probably reach 40 % of presence in the district. However, even if the easing of sanitary rules to be respected in companies will encourage employees to return more quickly than imagined, I don't see any reason why this should be the case. no return to normal before september<\/strong>. The major groups that have been implementing return plans for the last two months are not going to change their strategies. It would cost a lot of effort and energy. And the summer holidays will interrupt the return to work. Especially as, if I take the case of my teams, I feel a need and a lot of fatigue after this difficult period.<\/p>\n

In terms of health, what has Paris La D\u00e9fense done to help employees return to work?<\/h3>\n

F. B -<\/strong> We worked with the companies to ensure that the site was capable of welcoming employees in complete safety<\/strong>This included increased cleaning of lifts and escalators, and access management with the RATP. Quite quickly, we organised a meeting with the association of companies using the area to see how we could help them with the takeover. To limit the notorious morning and evening peaks, we also reintroduced the staggered arrival plan that we had put in place with Ile-de-France Mobilit\u00e9s. With the Hauts-de-Seine department, cycle lanes have been installed from the Neuilly bridge to the boulevard circulaire, and an agreement has been reached with the prefecture to authorise the use of bicycles. bicycle traffic under the slab<\/strong>This means you can cycle to the foot of the towers. It's a real step forward. In this context, the Covid crisis has accelerated the necessary reforms.<\/p>\n

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Aerial view of Paris La D\u00e9fense. (c) AirImages Paris La D\u00e9fense.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let's go back a few weeks. What does it look like, a huge business district like La D\u00e9fense emptied of its employees? Has your establishment also ceased trading?<\/h3>\n

F. B -<\/strong> It was quite impressive. I went there occasionally, but one of my colleagues who is lucky enough to live in the area sent me some incredible photos and videos. No noise, total silence. The area was 'closed' in the sense that our main users, the companies and their employees, no longer physically came to the towers. But Defence continued to operate<\/strong>. We put our business continuity plan in place the day before the lockdown. All our employees already had experience of teleworking, which saved us time. However, not all of them worked from home. We still had to maintain the neighbourhood and carry out maintenance. Our main concern was to ensure the safety of all the facilities. As a result, the security control centre has continued to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Another thing that goes a little unnoticed, but which is important for our establishment, which has a real CSR policy, was the management of the many homeless people who live in the basements and on the outskirts of the district.<\/p>\n