Leave Paris for Brittany: in the West, there is new

Rennes has never been so close to Paris, thanks to the high-speed line that 1h27 of the capital. The Britons held the red carpet to host the ile-de-france.

in The spring of 2017, the invitation in the form of injunction vaguely comminatory, #Passezàlouest, had flourished on the social networks, and the walls of the paris metro. With visual staggered about the art of living in brittany, the campaign mocked gently through paris. Behind the coup de com' to more than 1 million euros, driven by the regional council of Brittany and the main conurbations served by the new high-speed line (LGV), a bet: to take advantage of the effect TGV to convince the Parisians to ditch their stress legendary, and their jams against the joys of life-giving Brittany a tonic.

The arrival of the high-speed line, inaugurated on 2 July by Emmanuel Macron, should contribute to the attractiveness of the region.

AFP PHOTO / Fred TANNEAU

Since July 2, 2017, the train joins Rennes in 1h27 from the gare Montparnasse, a gain of more than forty minutes in relation to the path earlier. A pious hope? For the moment, as the stresses of recent economic studies, there is no evidence that this rail service fast track will be enough to loosen the last of the brakes for those who are still reluctant to put the cape to the West.

Trips reduced and 4G

It's weird. When questioning former ile-de-france, which had left the capital, a few years ago already, this argument does not leave insensitive. The image of Hélori Lanos. In 2013, Web developer, old today of 33 years, closing definitively the door to his studio of 38 square meters to rent in the Twelfth arrondissement and moved to Rennes with the family, a few months after the birth of her first child.

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He then left his employment as a salaried employee and began to follow her companion, who has found a position in the field of urban planning. A choice dictated by family roots and the memory of his years of study at Insa-Rennes, an engineering school famous. Not to mention the reassuring presence of the four grand-parents on-site, at a time when the care of young children has often been a delicate balancing act in Paris.

No question, so far, to cut off permanently the bridges with the capital, if only for professional reasons. With two partners, one in Saint-Brieuc and the other in Paris, Hélori Lanos develops, in effect, a start-up of council management of heritage via an online platform, France SCPI, which, as its name indicates, is national development.

Hélori is, therefore, a habitué of the line Rennes-Paris, and it appreciates in connoisseur the gain time allowed by the HSL. "Recently, I took the train of 7: 30 am, which arrives at 9 o'clock in Montparnasse. I went to an appointment at 10 a.m. in the Xviii arrondissement. I was back in Rennes at 14: 30 for a true half-day of work, which would not have been possible with the old schedule," says the young man, who salutes by the way the 4G is available now throughout the journey, ensuring the efficient movement of the digital era.

The rise of the double lives

And his life in Rennes, how is she? Hélori has not renounced the charms of life in the city. For their first real estate purchase, his partner and him have preferred an apartment in the historical center, to two steps from the place des Lices and its famous Saturday morning market.

"We wanted to maintain an urban life in arriving at Rennes, not to use the car... We didn't want to share the disadvantages of the parisian way of life against the inconvenience of life in the province," says he, smiling. Apparently, the bet is successful. At the head of the good surprises rennaises, Hélori cite spontaneously "approaches less complicated than in Paris, where he must constantly fight for everything."

"To partagerentre Pariset the Bretagnedevient monnaiecourante",Gaël Patout

SDP

This longing for a life more zen, Gaël Patout knows them well. Executive officer of an agency of communication presents to Vannes and Nantes, he presides over the venerable Association des cadres bretons (ACB), the acronym of which reinterpreted to mean Association of the conquest of the britons. Quite a program! He observes the arrival of new members, thirty-something parisians who dream of return to the country, and rely on the strength of networks to create the link.

"I also encounter more and more of those that I call the double lives, who share their weeks between Paris and Brittany," stresses Gaël Patout. Profile type: men and women who lead a parisian career while leaving or installing the family in Britain. Florent Zerr is one of them: this fifty-year old is the director of business development, Quartus, a real estate group whose headquarters is located on the banks of the Seine.

For the past three years, he made the shuttle between the capital and Senna, in the Gulf of Morbihan, a jet of menhir of Valves. His girlfriend lives there all week, in a residence feet in the water. Professional early childhood, she has chosen to work on-site, as the director of the municipal kindergarten of Valves.

He joins for real weekends that déstumble upon on a Friday evening. "Monday morning, I jump on my scooter and left to Montparnasse and I head back to my office in the Eighth or my home in the Thirteenth century", explains Florent Zerr, visibly uncomfortable with this mode of life pendulum.

initiatives to attract talent

The companies brittany's dream also attract in-house talent of the parisians, and know. The image of Xavier Michard, the regional director of the SII, a company of digital services, which employs over 7000 people throughout the world, with 4600 in France, and about 10% in the West. "We recruit engineers, developers... What we're looking for, these are passionate people! Rennes is our national expertise centre in the field of it infrastructure", explains the leader, who is struggling to find locally the profile sought.

"I took the trainà 7: 30 am to assisterà an appointment-you give Paris. I was deretour at 14: 30!", Hélori Lanos.

JULIEN MIGNOT/ANDIA FOR The EXPRESS

Rather than poach among his neighbours the bretons, Xavier Michard out the great game to attract candidates from elsewhere. His latest find: remove downright the trial period (next employer); work with a recruitment firm to facilitate the employment of the spouse; and fund assistance to the search of a dwelling, with a specialized structure... the Irony of history, SII has launched its own hashtag #welcometoBreizh only a few weeks before the now famous #passezàlouest.

while it is obviously too early to draw definitive conclusions, his boss is confident: "We have received before were fifteen candidates; three-quarters of them to take the decisive step to accept assistance in finding work for their partner," he says. Xavier Michard plans to hire a hundred engineers this year. Those who come from the Ile-de-France will certainly be sensitive to the time savings provided by the high-speed line.

shared desktops, festive and user-friendly

Jeremiah David occupies a unique vantage point to understand the changes in progress: it is the explorer of the team. In the clear: he is the head of this office created in Lyon (hence the reference montane of the name) and now installed in Rennes for a year. As a quarantine of other self-employed workers, it is now in its premises that makes daily Hélori Lanos, when it is not in the train.

"one of our members, more than one in four are former Parisians who wanted to move to the West. We are a kind of incubator for informal, but also a gateway into the city for those who come to settle," said Jeremiah David. There is advice, partners, and even customers.

Hélori Lanos confirms that these thirty-somethings néorennais share the same desires of life change, while retaining the habits of paris. To believe, the city is meeting their expectations, with the proliferation of places, casual and festive. His only concern, ultimately, lies elsewhere: "Among our friends, we were among the first to have children and to leave Paris. Since then, many have followed. Result: when we return to the capital, one starts to wonder at who you will be able to sleep!", he joked. A concern that, with the speed of the LGV, should occur more rarely now.

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