Les acteurs économiques et le régionalisme lorrain de la Belle Epoque

Abstract

In August 1917. Etienne Clémentel, Minister of Commerce and Industry, took the initiative in the first French expérience ofregionalizalion. Twenty économie régions were created ont of a régional clusler of Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Economy played an important part in the conception of this reform. Clementel's action shows the reorganization ofstate inteivenlion in this domain. The regional division aimed at taking spatial logics of économie activity into account. Chambers of Commerce were a part in the negoliation of régional groups. Since the beginning of the 20th century, some of thèse Chambers have developed strategies of régional unions, and we can see the design oftheir regionalist initiatives in the outline map of économie régions. The Chamber of Commerce ot Nancy, very energetic in this regard, présents a good obseivatory. The analysis 01 a iew of its initiatives shows an important perspective both to the regionalization of Nancy, and lo thegenesis of the Eastern économie région, which was the first to be created.