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I’ll admit to having had a slight “head” this morning after a very agreeable apero-plus (drinks plus extra big snacks) at some friends’ house yesterday evening.

For reasons I cannot adequately explain I chose to drink whisky (there seems to be a widespread belief amongst the French that the English drink whisky as their pre-prandial tipple of choice, though where they got this idea I cannot say) and did not pay too close attention to how often my glass was being refilled.

Although the local gossip was good (it usually is), what was more interesting from my perspective was what is going on in the regional economy. Some of what was passed on I already knew about; a fair bit was news to me.

It’s all happening around here. Business and enterprise in the South Vendée is moving and shaking. Or, at least, they are making a jolly good stab at it after a 2009 that did not exactly cover itself in glory.

Last year, a big local employer, SKF a Swedish bearing manufacturer, decided to close its operation in Fontenay-le-Comte, preferring instead to expand capacity elsewhere. 560 jobs were lost, though some positions were relocated to the expanding locations, so the net loss was of 300 posts.

SKF made a profit of 4.7 billion Kroner last year (I have no idea of how much that is exactly in real money, but it is a lot), so as might be imagined, the decision did cause a certain amount of comment from local and national politicians, none of which made one iota of difference.

In a town of 12,000-odd, this was a big deal.

Directly, unemployment benefits for the laid-off workforce come in at €7.5 million. Indirect losses to the local economy amount to millions more. Most obvious, however, is the effect on the finances of the “Communauté des Communes de Pays de Fontenay le Comte.” This is the cantonal organisation that is responsible for services across all the communes that make up the canton of the Pays de Fontenay le Comte.

Aside from the mundane business of maintaining roads and public buildings, the CdC is responsible for the provision of “para-scolaire” services: administering the school bus services, providing extra-curricula activities for schools such as swimming lessons, horse riding, sailing classes and all the “nice-to-haves” whose value is so often overlooked.

The CdC receives its funding from taxe professionnelle, a levy on businesses. SKF provided €2 million – about 30% – of this in Fontenay, and the loss is being felt acutely, not least by the senior bods at the CdC who have all taken a voluntary cut in pay of 10%, and has led to the curtailment of all non-essential activities. So, no more subsidised sport for the kiddies.

Rather than winging about how unfair this all is, the CdC and the commune of Fontenay le Comte is trying to find ways to plug the gap. They realise, fortunately, that they can’t do this by raising taxes on remaining businesses that are already feeling the pinch.

So, instead, they have decided to borrow €4 million to build a test track for the motor industry.

When I first heard about this I assumed that it was just a means for functionaries to get on lots of jollies overseas, but it would seem my cynicism may have been misplaced. Superficially, building this track may seem a bit odd: the nearest car building plant is a Rennes and they have their own facilities anyway.

But the CdC has rather smaller fish to fry.

It is commonly held that France has no interest in small businesses. As is so often the case, however, the truth is rather more complicated.

It would be fair to say that the rules for businesses in France can take a bit of getting used to. For example, our business is registered with the Chambre de Commerce as an accommodation business. We can undertake other activities that are not “core” – a bit of key holding, for example – without having to register that activity provided that the income from this does not exceed 10% of turnover and that the other activity is also one covered by the Chambre de Commerce.

If, on the other hand, we wanted to do a little light bricklaying on the side, that activity would require registration with the Chambre des Metiers and we would actually need to establish a separate enterprise to do this with all the costs and paperwork that entails.

Being a Jack of all trades is pretty difficult here, and this can seem less than sensible to anyone used to the UK system where one simply registers a business and then does whatever one can make money.

Also, some professions simply don’t exist in the French mindset: try and set up as a marketing consultant, for example, and you simply won’t be able to because the activity isn’t in the book. This can be frustrating.

Notwithstanding, small businesses are meat and bread to the French economy. In 2006 (the last time the survey was done: a new one is due this year), more than half of the people employed in the Vendée were either self employed or working for businesses with 12 or fewer staff.

What the CdC is hoping is that they can attract the niche firms that supply the car industry with all the bits and bobs it needs in to the Fontenay, and remarkably this might actually be happening. They need 120 days work per year  to break even and have already taken provisional bookings for 90 even though the track isn’t yet built.

Space for small enterprises is on offer at a disused injection moulding plant just next to the proposed track, and it is over subscribed. I know this because the host of last night’s drinks is trying to get in there.

He runs a small business that fabricates specialist tool parts for the car industry.