All the players in the file were gathered in full force at the Ladies of France, this Wednesday, May 25, to formalize the arrival of School 42 in Perpignan. A first batch of 150 computer science students will take over the premises from November 2022.
All the gratin of the local political and economic world had made an appointment, this Wednesday, May 25, at the Ladies of France for the official signing of the contract with the School 42 Perpignan Occitanie. The culmination of nearly two years of steps initiated by the economic development agency, the agglomeration and the CCI, initiated and carried by Laurent Gauze, before a first « swimming pool » (selection test in jargon 2.0) planned for students in November 2022. This start of the school year will take place on the second floor of the building and under the direction of Géro Vigney, appointed in February after having been part of the first class of Ecole 42 in Paris in 2013 before continuing in IT .
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An arrival of a prestigious establishment in the P.-O. hailed by the main interested parties such as Robert Vila, president of Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole: « We were able to present our arguments to the school leaders. It is an engraved moment for the image of the territory and the local economy » Same observation for the mayor Louis Aliot, who we learned was more Mac than PC. « It’s a big day for the city, the department and the region. It’s a great opportunity for the economic fabric, for our young people, for the image of Perpignan… »
Géro Vigney, Director of Ecole 42 and Cédric Siré, president of Webedia and financial partner of the establishment.
An atypical training in the digital field created by the founder of Iliad-Free and billionaire Xavier Niel (also nicknamed « Tonton » by the students) whose pedagogy can sometimes seem confusing: no lessons, no teachers, no class , no age limit, condition of diploma (not even the baccalaureate) or registration fees and training financed 50/50 by public and private partners such as Véolia, the Banque Populaire or the Catalan Cédric Siré , founder and president of Webedia and financial partner of the school, whose annual operating budget is around one million euros.
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« École 42 played a major role in the launch of my business. It’s a second-chance school where what matters is above all who you are and not what you’ve done or where you come from. 100% of those who leave find a lasting, long-term job, with an average annual salary of 42,000 euros. In my time, you had to go into exile and camp in Paris to start your business. Now others will be able to do it with a view of the Canigou“, rejoices this business angel born in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque (son of the former deputy Fernand Siré) and now at the head of a “unicorn” which employs 6,000 people.
François Rivière, Louis Aliot, Hermeline Malherbe or Laurent Gauze, president of the CCI, were present.
An opinion shared by François Rivière, president of the USAP and member of the board of the Ecole 42 association: « It’s a historic day to keep our young people, train them, attract very high-level companies and boost the department’s GDP.. » Or finally Emmanuel Stern, president of the French Tech Perpignan. « The whole profession needs coders, developers and people skilled in digital because there is a real shortage. All of this will make it possible to position Perpignan on digital and generate attractiveness. »
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A future student campus at the Dames de France?
While the first three floors were finally bought by the town hall from Caisse des Dépôts for 3 million euros (the top floor and the rooftop still being the property of Crédit Agricole), 1.6 million euros of work The development has been hired (with the help of the agglo and the Department) for the rehabilitation of the interior of this building in the Art Nouveau style and unoccupied for nearly three years following the departure of Fnac from the Galeries Lafayette.
Although GrandOptical has announced that it is keeping its location on the ground floor, new projects should soon emerge, such as the arrival of the IES Business school business and management school which was to set up on the site. from the next school year as indicated on its website, even if the project seems to be off to a bad start.
« There are some technical problems, so the school should not settle in the place planned for the first year but not very far in Perpignan », says Louis Aliot, for what could eventually become a student campus in the city center. We are also in the process of negotiating with companies, commercial brands… There are cafeterias or banks that are interested, we will have to make a choice. »
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Perpignan: the founding act for the establishment of school 42 is laid
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Urban community of Perpignan: the budget and support for school 42 have been validated