Gouvernance et interterritorialité, enjeux de développement économique. Le cas de Saintes – Saint-Jean-d’Angély

Territorial governance is a factor of economic development, as are investments in education, infrastructure and innovation. Public actors see in the territory the political-administrative space that they govern in a geographical dimension rather than social dimension. However, economic and social practices are now interterritorial. They are made up of mobilities, networks and links. The case of the employment area of Saintes and Saint-Jean-d'Angély illustrates this point. Home-to-work mobility and head office-establishment links are explained by the proximity of skills, the economic and political history of the region and the strategic choices made by companies. Thinking about the interterritorial dimension of economic activities requires taking into account the economic history of businesses and the capacity of local businesses to develop. The identification of interterritorial economic and social realities raises the question of the recognition of these characteristics by local actors and, therefore, their abilities to promote a development at an interterritorial level. In the case of Saintes and Saint-Jean-d?Angély, it appears that neighbouring territories tend to perceive themselves as competitors. Cooperation is almost non-existent despite numerous opportunities that would be a source of development for the territory (especially in the tourism and the wine-growing activities). Thus, governance no longer only appears to be a matter of the territory on which the actors are located but is also part of an interterritorial context. Interterritorial governance constitutes a challenge for local actors and is related to a long-term cooperative process beyond political and administrative limits. It requires moving from a competitive vision to a cooperative vision.