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THE SUN AFTER THE STORM?

In a gloomy context—real estate sinking deeper into crisis while our political stage pushes ridicule a little further each day—at the time of writing, the 2025 budget still hasn’t been passed—the mood is hardly optimistic. However, the general policy speech delivered by François Bayrou cracks the door open to a few positives for the construction sector, and by extension for interior fit-out. Notably, he asserted loud and clear that the country needs a “rethought, large-scale housing policy.”

Without going into detail, the Prime Minister acknowledged the scale of the task needed to get things moving again, and the initial avenues mentioned include measures such as incentives for rental investment, the reinstatement of zero-interest loans to promote home ownership, support for pro-building local officials, and, of course, the simplification of ever more cumbersome administrative procedures: “Reducing lead times by streamlining authorization requirements, encouraging densification, and making changes of use easier.” All of which could energize the sector and open up market opportunities.

Hoping the rebound materializes, 2025 will at least be marked by interior design and fit-out through the professional events dedicated to it. First on the calendar, the Forum Bois Construction will be held in Paris, at the Grand Palais, from February 26 to 28, with a particular focus on wood fit-outs; Workspace, also in Paris, will bring its expertise on workplaces from March 25 to 27; meanwhile, the international flagship Interzum will—as usual—take place in Cologne from May 20 to 23; the Flanders Flooring Days will continue their growth at the end of May to become the benchmark flooring trade fair; and finally, the various editions of architect@work will be held in Marseille in May, then in Paris and Bordeaux in November.

With a spirit of optimism as we await better days, the entire team of your magazine L’Agenceur wishes you a wonderful year 2025.

Brice Alexandre Roboam