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Bruno Blandin, president of Medef Guadeloupe and of the Overseas Committee within the national Medef organization, and Ryan Beaubois, director of the Medef Business Union of Guadeloupe, were received at the Multiprofessional Economic Chamber on Thursday, March 12. The meeting was attended by numerous representatives from the island’s business community. The focus of the discussions was to explore the feasibility and practicalities of establishing a Medef chapter in Saint Barthélemy. These issues were debated at length.
Medef, the Movement of French Businesses, is an employers’ organization, more commonly referred to as the employers’ union. For Bruno Blandin, this visit to Saint Barthélemy served as a way to test the waters. “The goal is to see with our business leader friends if they’re considering setting up a Medef in Saint-Barth,” he explains. “They have a lot of questions, which is normal. Medef is an employers’ union that defends businesses. We are not in competition with politicians or the Chambers of Commerce.” However, even though interest in creating a Medef Saint-Barth was expressed, reservations—even mistrust—were voiced during the meeting. Mainly regarding the value of establishing a Medef branch in Saint-Barth. “To be strong, we must unite,” asserts Bruno Blandin. “To do that, we need structures that channel and carry a common voice. When we go to Paris, we need only one person to speak. And Medef is a facilitator with a network.”
For Jérémy Laplace, president of the CEM, the discussions with the Medef president allowed for the exploration of important topics. “We’ve already reached out to the Medef in Saint Martin to determine whether it would be beneficial to establish a Medef in Saint Barth,” he explains. “We’ll be consulting with business leaders to discuss this.” ” However, uniting the island’s businesses under a single banner is a task that seems difficult. “The CEM already provides significant support to the island’s businesses; it is a member of FEDOM, which allows us to move things forward,” notes Jérémy Laplace. “If a MEDEF were to be established tomorrow, it would need to adopt the specific characteristics of a MEDEF that do not overlap with those of the CEM. We must avoid creating duplicates or confusion. Consistency is key. That is the crux of the matter regarding whether or not to create a MEDEF in Saint-Barth.”
The discussion is therefore underway. Further “consultation sessions” have already been announced by the CEM.
