Philippe Schmit, Mayor of Thieulin and President of the Entre Beauce et Perche Community of Municipalities: “Logistics is an opportunity for economic development in our regions”

Philippe Schmit : Even before Amazon was mentioned, we had been in contact with property developer Mountpark since 2016, when it was looking for land to expand in France. The Community of Municipalities did not yet own this 62-hectare plot, located in the Illiers-Combray-Blandainville large-capacity zone. The Departmental Council owned it until the Entre Beauce et Perche Community of Municipalities bought it in 2018.

For an area of this size, we had few options as to the type of projects we could host: industry or logistics. My fellow elected officials would have preferred industry, as they feared that logistics would bring only trucks and, ultimately, few jobs in relation to the scale of the land take. Yet the idea of hosting logistics activities gradually gained ground among elected officials and local residents, who understood the potential for revitalizing our municipalities.

We therefore sold the land to Mountpark in 2020, and at the beginning of 2025 it inaugurated a first 36,000 m² warehouse intended to host the logistics operations of manufacturer Mattel, managed by FM Logistics.

P.S. : As the representative of the elected officials from the Community’s 33 municipalities, I pledged that there would be no additional nuisance associated with heavy truck traffic. The reasoning was that, since the park is located off the A11 highway, the activities established there should not generate additional traffic for surrounding municipalities, because vehicles do not have to pass through the nearby towns to reach their destination. My second requirement concerned the number of jobs created… It may seem counterintuitive, but I did not want there to be too many. Illiers-Combray has only 3,400 residents. We therefore do not have the labor pool to meet excessive demand, which would require shuttle services from the larger nearby cities, generating additional traffic. And if people working at the site wanted to live nearby, we would not be able to accommodate them properly in terms of transportation and housing—especially since too many newcomers in too short a time could destabilize the municipality.

Finally, my last request concerned the type of company: I asked that it not be companies like Amazon...

P.S. : When Mountpark told us that Amazon might come, I thought I would say no, but I wanted to find out more first. So I visited two of its sites, one in Brétigny-sur-Orge and the other in Dove. But what changed my mind was more its employee-management model: the contracts offered to staff, with good pay, better benefits than at other companies—particularly regarding parental leave—and company-funded training… Local businesses even came to tell me that they feared losing their employees to Amazon! The initial version of the project nonetheless mentioned the creation of 2,500 jobs, which was not viable for us. But Amazon ultimately decided to automate a large part of its processes, as it too is constrained by recruitment difficulties. It will ultimately create 1,000 positions.

I also told myself—and explained this to the skeptical elected officials and local residents—that if we are customers, even occasional ones, of this company, we can assume that it needs a warehouse! It might as well be here, benefiting the local economy.

Moreover, the climate of trust established with Mountpark motivated me to champion the project.

P.S. : After discussions with the DRAC (Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs), we knew that our area was one of the richest in the Centre-Val de Loire region in terms of archaeological remains… So, with everyone’s agreement, we decided not to excavate but to protect potential remains by covering the site with nearly 300,000 cubic meters of earth. As a result, 10,000 trucks made round trips from the sand quarry in the municipality of Thieulin, of which I am also mayor. The roads between Thieulin and Illiers-Combray naturally suffered, and the Departmental Council paid for their restoration. After all, the development tax it receives is also intended for that purpose! The municipalities also received a development tax, which was transferred to the Community of Municipalities to help it bear the €5 million investment and enable us to offer Mountpark a competitive price per square meter. We remain slightly in deficit at this price, but we know it will generate financial benefits for the area, which can also expect an increase in population, quality of life, and mobility, in addition to job creation.

P.S. : Trust. From the outset of our discussions, Mountpark gave me assurances. They listened, even on details, and always honored their commitments. For example, they consulted me about every potential user of their site, as they had promised from the start. Sometimes I said no, and other times yes. For my part, I supported them to ensure there would be no sticking points, anticipating issues and contacting in advance everyone who might be concerned—elected officials, state services, etc.—and I was their sole point of contact for the project’s overall management. On the 62-hectare site we sold to Mountpark, there is still 250,000 m² of construction potential. We therefore hope that this relationship of mutual trust will endure.