REPORT. "This acceleration is happening so fast": with the war in Ukraine, the arms industry is hiring like crazy in Berry

Thanks to their massive hiring, two giants of the arms sector are revitalizing the city of Bourges.

The city of Bourges is in the midst of an industrial revolution. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the arms industry has been hiring in droves in the capital of Berry. This is where Caesar cannons and Aster anti-aircraft missiles are manufactured. And thanks to this, Bourges and its 65,000 inhabitants are turning the page on four decades of deindustrialization and demographic collapse.

A stone's throw from the cathedral, the terrace of a downtown restaurant offers a glimpse of the revival of the Cher prefecture. In the shade of the half-timbered houses, many young people gather in this lively square, particularly young engineers working in the arms industry. This is the case for Alex, 26. Originally from Paris, he left everything behind seven months ago to move to Bourges, a decision that surprised those around him: "The first reaction was, 'Bourges, where was that again ?'" he recalls.

Alex settled in Bourges after being persuaded to do so by his friend Clément, 25, a fellow weapons engineer who has been living in the capital of Berry for seven years. "Seven years ago, Bourges was a sleepy town that wasn't necessarily hyper-dynamic, especially for young people, " he explains. "And little by little, we're seeing it become more dynamic, becoming 'younger,' and that's great. Just look around us; there are a lot of young people, a bit like us, who go out in Bourges, do activities, participate in cultural and sports associations, etc. And it's great because it's a town that was indeed sleepy and is waking up."

Bourges is waking up thanks to massive hiring in the arms sector: since the start of the war in Ukraine, there have been 500 recruitments at the two giants of the sector, MBDA and KNDS. And, according to information from franceinfo, the missile manufacturer and gunner are expected to hire 2,500 more people in the next five years.

MBDA and KNDS subcontractors are also hiring massively. And construction companies are rubbing their hands with glee: on the outskirts of the city, arms production sites are expanding. In the city center, a few businesses are gradually reopening, such as a chocolate shop, a cocktail bar, and a caterer. Finally, the real estate sector is also booming. "We're not complaining ," assures Louis Roussel, manager of a rental agency. "We complain when there's not enough work, we're not going to complain when there's too much!"

He's a little overwhelmed by the influx of new clients: "Certainly, we have a demand that's much greater than the supply we can offer today. A few years ago, four or five years ago, we had enough to meet our needs, and today, that's no longer the case at all." And things are expected to get even tighter in the real estate sector since, for the first time in 40 years, the demographic curve is reversing. Bourges is gaining inhabitants again, around 600 last year.

The city's left-wing mayor hadn't anticipated such exponential growth. "Even I, as mayor of Bourges, sometimes think to myself, 'This can't be true, this acceleration of the defense industry is happening so fast,'" Yann Galut emphasizes.

"Today, we are in the process of taking stock and adapting the city."

Yann Galut, diverse left-wing mayor of Bourges

to franceinfo

How best to welcome all these new arrivals? This is the problem the mayor is trying to solve. "We have set up, at the urban and city level, a support service called 'Bourges, vie nouvelle'. And we are extremely busy in this service with the defense industries, which need to support the families who arrive to find housing, to find a doctor, etc.," explains Yann Galut. For example, I wrote to MBDA and KNDS a few days ago as mayor of Bourges, to ask them: 'How many nursery places and school places do you think you will need ?'"

The city is also already facing another major challenge: welcoming hundreds of thousands of tourists in 2028, the year Bourges will become the European Capital of Culture.