Where are the workers? Start-ups with an industrial vocation and promises of reindustrialisation in the Grand-East of France

There is a lot of talk today about start-ups with an industrial vocation as a vector for the reindustrialisation of France and as a source of dynamism. The government supports the idea that by innovating, it is possible to recreate productive jobs throughout the industry. It relies on entrepreneurs of good will. But how to explain the absence of workers in this picture of reindustrialisation? We present the case of the Grand-Est Region, a region hard hit by industrial decline, after several years of fieldwork.