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Le Havre (Municipality, Seine-Maritime, France): Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie du Havre

by Ivan Sache

Chambers of Commerce and Industry in France
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Le Havre
Description of the flag

See also:

Chambers of Commerce and Industry in France

The Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) are organizations representing the interests of commercial and industrial professions.

The first Chamber of Commerce was created in 1599 by Barthélémy de Laffemas in Marseilles. Colbert and Pontchartrain founded Chambers of Commerce in several cities of the kingdom of France. The Chambers of Commerce were suppressed in 1791 and reestablished in 1802 by Chaptal. There were 22 such Chambers. In 1803, the Chamber of Commerce of Paris was created, as well as Consultative Chambers of Factories, Arts and Industry. Those Consultative Chambers were suppressed in 1950, several of them being transformed into Chambers of Commerce. Following the French example, Chambers of Commerce were founded in Brussels (1703), Cologne (1707), New York (1768), Glasgow (1783) Edinburgh (1786), etc..

In France, the members of the Chambers of Commerce are elected by people listed on trade register. The elections are supervised by the State Council so that every professional branch has a representation proportional to its economical importance. There are currently 180 Chambers of Commerce, with 4,500 elected members and 26,000 employees. The Chambers of Commerce are State establishments supervised by several ministers.

The Chambers of Commerce have four main missions:

to represent the companies to the State authorities and inform them. The Chambers of Commerce have an advisory capacity on urban development, transportation, industrial setting up and the commercial, economical and customs legislation;
to manage facilities such as ports (190), airports (121), entrepots, bus stations and hotels;
to inform and advise the companies;
to train executives for the companies, via a network of colleges such as HEC and the Ecoles supérieures de commerce in Paris and Lyon.

Source: Encyclopaedia Universalis

Ivan Sache, 14 October 2003

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Le Havre

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Le Havre manages two toll bridges over the lower valley of Seine, the bridge of Tancarville (1,400-m long, inaugurated in 1959) and the bridge of Normandy (2,141-m long, inaugurated in 1995) and the airport of Le Havre-Octeville. It has 200 elected members, representing 2,740 merchants, 2,050 service providers and industrialists. Its two commerce colleges are the IPER, specialized in port activity, and the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce du Havre.

Source: Com'estuaire website

Ivan Sache, 14 October 2003

Description of the flag

The building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Le Havre is located on the Commerce Basin, and its flag is hoisted in front of the building. The flag is made of the logo of the Chamber on a white field. The logo is made of an hexagon, symbolizing France (the country is often nicknamed l'hexagone, which irritates the Bretons who are excluded of the hexagon) and divided into blue and red rays emerging in a spiral pattern from a white decentered disc. The words CCI LE HAVRE, in blue letters, are placed horizontally in the upper part of the logo.

Most Chambers of Commerce have a logo showing the same kind of hexagon with the name of the Chamber written on it.

Ivan Sache, 14 October 2003