1French companies in the building and public works sector constitute one of the major sectors of the French economy: in 2007, for example, their turnover amounted to 201.2 billion euros (of which 70% for construction and 30% for public works).1 Moreover, it is an industry that exports a certain amount (12.8% of the total turnover), but this is mostly in the area of public works (33.8% of the total turnover) rather than construction (3.2%). This importance is on a European scale. The French construction industry is in third position behind Germany and Spain. It also features a high level of concentration. A very small number of very large conglomerates dominate, namely Vinci, Bouygues, Eiffage and, far behind, SPIE, Fayat and SPIE Batignolles. The first two are European leaders, ahead of ACS Dragados, a Spanish group, Hochtief, a German conglomerate which is now partly owned by ACS Dragados, and the Swedish group, Skanska.

2Historically, and this is found in the uneven international integration shown above, the French construction industry has been dominated by public works companies: what can be observed for companies is moreover found on the side of the authorities, since the Ministry for Public Works, especially its Bridges and Highways administration, has produced much more historical archives than the ministry for Reconstruction, Housing and Town Planning. The spectacular rise of Bouygues since 1950 is an exception.

3These characteristics of the French construction industry explain why the large majority of company archives are today accessible in public collections or, more surely again, among those of the major conglomerates. From the numerous takeovers and equity acquisitions and mergers, these have brought into their orbit numerous mid-sized and large companies whose history clearly deserves the interest of academic research. It is thus possible to cover most of the technical specializations that constitute the branch of public works (major civil engineering projects, general earthworks, waterproofing and specific foundations, steel construction, road works and airports, railway construction, maritime and river works, creation of transport and telecommunications networks, water supply and sanitation works, etc.), but also the major building trades (structural and finishing work).

4From the point of view of company archives, it is the Vinci group that conserves the richest collection. Its two main French competitors, Bouygues and Eiffage also offer vast, but uneven perspectives to researchers. However, there are numerous collections of varying size and ease of access which can be used for academic research.

A historical leader: Vinci

5Managed today by Xavier Huillard, the Vinci group focuses on history as illustrated by its website, as does the publication in 2003, of a major work produced for the group’s centenary: The Société Générale d’Entreprises was born in 1908, but it had been in 1899 that the partnership Giros et Loucheur had been founded, from which it comes.2 This book had been the fruit of a huge amount of archival research. Prepared by a vast doctoral dissertation, itself renewed in a recent publication, this research had been carried out by a team assembled under Dominique Barjot thanks to which it was possible to cover all the trades in which the group is active.

Five founding entities

6Vinci was in fact formed from a merger between five major entities. The first was the Société Générale d’Entreprises, founded by two graduates of the École Polytechnique, Alexandre Giros (1870-1937) and Louis Loucheur (1872-1931). After Louis Loucheur’s departure in 1916 for high ministerial office (Secretary of State for Artillery and Ammunition, then Minister for Arms), Alexandre Giros managed the company with a staff of managers and with his sons in law, including Jean Matheron, CEO from 1945 to 1971, but also of the Belgian group, SOFINA which remained a shareholder until 1963. In 1966, the SGE passed into the orbit of the Compagnie Générale d’Électricité, then in 1983, of Saint-Gobain and finally, in 1988 of the Générale des Eaux. SGE freed itself from this tutelage in 2000 with its merger with the GTM group. The SGE has a remarkable collection of archives, which the skill of the men from Saint-Gobain in particular allowed to survive until today. It is especially rich in the area of electrification works and major civil engineering constructions.

7The passage of SGE into the Saint-Gobain group resulted in the merger, in 1986 of SGE-BTP, SGE’s main subsidiary, with SOBEA, which grouped together all of Saint-Gobain’s construction industry activities. Of all of these, the most important was Eau et Assainissement (or Société d’Eau et Assainissement, SOCEA), established in 1918 and whose archives Vinci has taken over. They offer definite possibilities for the study of water supply and sanitation works both in France, in overseas French territories and abroad, directly or through subsidiaries (SOCOMAN, Compagnie Française des Conduites d’Eau). From the abovementioned merger, SOGEA was born, one of the essential components of today’s Vinci Construction.

8Another of its components was Campenon Bernard, with which SGE merged in 1988. Established in 1920 by Edme Campenon (1872-1962), an unusual businessman, the company owed its success to its partnership with Eugène Freyssinet (1879-1962). He trained remarkable engineers such as Jean Muller (born in 1925). Campenon Bernard thus imposed itself as a world leader in prestressed concrete and a major protagonist in technical progress in the domain of bridge construction. This company’s archives therefore appear to be of significant historical interest.

9In 2000, SGE merged with Groupe GTM to create Vinci. Now, Grands Travaux de Marseille (GTM) had since the beginning of the 20^th century, argued the leadership of public works. Created in 1891, in view of cleaning up Marseille’s harbour, GTM then imposed itself, thanks to Charles Rebuffel (1861-1942), in hydroelectric and civil engineering works for harbours. They created a powerful group around them, which was very involved in the Colonial Empire. They also knew to disengage from it after the World War II, in particular under the leadership of René Gonon (1906-2001), to turn successfully towards oil services (ETPM, then a merger in 1982 with Entrepose) and towards the prestressing of concrete. This history can be studied through the archives which are of great interest despite their small quantity.

10Between 1985 and 1990, GTM passed gradually under the control of Dumez, one of its main competitors. Created in 1890 by Alexandre Dumez (1864-1932), this company developed significantly after 1945 under the leadership of the brothers Pierre (1901-1970) and André (1903-1998) Chaufour. It became one of the world leaders in terms of large dams. Then, in 1990, the founding family retired, to the benefit of Lyonnaise des Eaux. The impact of this withdrawal is not neutral from an archival point of view: the history of Dumez remains therefore more difficult to study than those of the other four entities. It is therefore necessary to call upon the family’s collection of documents.

A vast palette of trades

11The Vinci group cannot be reduced to these entities only. The group’s archives contain many other treasures, through its different trades. A first area concerns concrete and specific works, thanks to the archives of STUP-Freyssinet, established in 1943 by E. Freyssinet and the world leader in prestressing, those of Sainrapt et Brice and, more recently, of Solétanche-Bachy, world famous specialist in specific works and foundations, or those of Entrepose Contracting. Public works are equally rich in important archives. Among these, pipe laying works with CAPAG CETRA, the company created by Louis Ducatel (1902-1999), but also those of works in the sea and inland waterways (the companies Morillon Corvol et Courbot, Dodin, Caroni) and earthworks (Ruvenhorst et Humbert, Deschiron, Chantiers Modernes). These public works offered very rich perspectives abroad, thanks to the archives of CFE (Compagnie d’Entreprises CFE, the historical leader in Belgium) and its subsidiary Dredging International (ex Ackermans & Van Haaren), inherited from Dumez, as well as those of Taylor Woodrow, one of the five major British companies, taken over by Vinci in 2008.

12The Vinci group also contains, in its archives, what is needed to renew the history of building, which is less well known than that of public works. Indeed, the five components mentioned above have all had building subsidiaries: SGE with SICRA and Thinet; SOBEA with Balency-Béarn and Grands Travaux en Béton Armé; Campenon Bernard with Froment Clavier, BATEG; Oger, Génie Civil de Lens and, especially, CBC, which for a time became the competitor of SGE itself; Grands Travaux de Marseille, with UTE (Union Technique d’Entreprises), Grands Travaux du Midi and Petit. The corresponding archives allow, in particular, the heavy industrialisation of building to be studied. A foreign dimension can be given by Norwest Holst, another British subsidiary of Vinci. The archives of Eurovia are of equal interest. Indeed, the Vinci group merged within its own structure the road subsidiaries of SGE (Cochery, Bourdin et Chaussé), of Campenon Bernard (Vialit and Viasphalte, then Viafrance) and of GTM (Entreprises Jean Lefebvre with its subsidiaries Reveto and Salviam-Brun). It is thus possible to write the history of the modern roadway.

13SGE and GTM have distinguished themselves in electricity. Consequently, it is hardly surprising that electrical installations and finishing works in buildings can constitute a strength of the archives. SGE was at the origin of the creation in 1977 of CGEE-Alsthom, which subsequently became CEGELEC, born from the merger between its own electrical department, that of Alsthom and, especially that of the Compagnie Générale d’Électricité (CGEE). In 2009, CEGELEC re-entered the Vinci group, joining Vinci Énergies there. This company combines the electrical and network activities of the former GTIE, a subsidiary contributed by the Générale des Eaux, and those of this group’s climate engineering business. From the first group, companies that are as interesting from a historical point of view, as Mors, Jean et Bouchon, Clémançon, Garczynski Traploir, Saunier Duval and Santerne emerge. From the second, are Tunzini and Améliorair in France, Wanner and its subsidiaries in Switzerland, Nickel in Germany and TMS in the United Kingdom. Finally, Vinci constitutes privileged access to utilities (transport, major public works). Indeed, before 1946, SGE had been the parent company of one of the largest French electricity companies, while GTM was the initiator in France of parking concessions (Parcs GTM) with SOGEPARC (a company bought by SGE in 1999). While imposing itself as European leader in the field of parking (Vinci Park) and motorways (Cofiroute, ASF, Acoba), Vinci also conquered strong positions in the management of airports and, especially in major structures (Stade de France, bridges over the Tage, the Severn and the Rion-Antirion bridge in Greece). One understands the immense wealth of the Vinci group’s archive collection, which is truly essential.

Two major competitors: Bouygues and Eiffage

14Opposite Vinci, in Europe stand two major French competitors: Bouygues and Eiffage. Their historical interest is no less important.

Bouygues: a construction and communications group

15Created by Francis Bouygues (1922-1993), Bouygues is the most difficult group to access, no doubt because it remains in the hands of a family that has often been attacked and criticised.3 At the same time, it appears to be less centred than Vinci on construction and utilities. From the beginning, the group combined property development and construction itself: Bouygues Immobilier, through its technical and financial efficiency, even provides an archetype in terms of sales activities. In the same way, the group took an interest in water, taking over SAUR, the third French company, from 1984 to 2003, in television, with its purchase of TF1 in 1981, in mobile telephony (Bouygues Telecom) and even in industry (30.8% of the capital of Alstom since 2006). Nevertheless, construction represents the largest portion (73.6% in 2010). If real estate is left aside, whose history cannot be told without mentioning Bouygues, the archives can be broken down into two groups: Bouygues Construction (29.6% of turnover in 2010) and Colas (37.4%). Through the first, the history of the group’s beginnings can be retraced, which remained, until 1986, above all a construction group. The Bouygues company had been founded on 1 January 1952 and then enjoyed, first thanks to building, then, from the end of the 1960s, from public works, an expansion unequalled in Europe. The Bouygues group grew from within, but also by external development with the acquisition of Quille, in 1965, the takeover in 1973-1974 of the Compagnie Française d’Entreprises, a giant of the public works sector which was at the time in bankruptcy, then the integration in 1986 of Dragages TP, with a very strong presence in Asia and Oceania (Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand) and historically of great interest (thanks to its subsidiaries, Entreprises de Grands Travaux Hydrauliques, Régie Générale des Chemins vsl two world famous Swiss companies joined them, the second being the main competitor of STUP-Freyssinet International on the world stage. Between 1975 and 2001 a dependency of Bouygues Construction, Bouygues Offshore, through which the history of oil services in France can be traced (taken over from Amrep, the French leader, in 1984). ETDE is still attached to it, a competitive electrical installation company. Of all of Bouygues’ entities, Colas remains the most open to research. This company is also of all, the most important for the history of road works in Europe and North America. Established in 1929 by Royal Dutch Shell and SGE, it was quickly freed from the control of the second, before passing, between 1958 and 1983, under the control of the RaveauCartier group. From that time on, the company experienced rapid growth both internally and from outside (merger in 1983 with Société des Grands Travaux de l’Est). Taken over in 1983 by screg, in turn (with its subsidiary Dragages TP) acquired acquired by Bouygues in 1986, Colas imposed itself within this group as the most profitable subsidiary. Successive restructurings led to the integration within this company, of SACER and SCREG Routes respectively in 1996 and 1998, two of the most important French road work companies, then to its diversification into railway works (acquisition of Desquenne et Giral, then of SPIE Rail). It is characterised, among other things, by the excellence of its technical archives.

Eiffage: a culture of independence

16Today Eiffage is placed in the fifth rank of European construction companies.4 Like Vinci, it is characterised by its attachment to a long history (see its website). This is largely thanks to the personal interest in history of its founder, Jean-François Roverato. This group was created from the merger in 1992 of Fougerolle and Société Auxiliaire d’Entreprises (SAE), two companies whose archives are of exceptional historical interest: the first for the history of civil engineering, especially through the saga of the Fougerolle brothers and then the recovery by Paribas, from the middle of the 1960s, the second, for its successful conversion from public works to buildings during the thirty glorious years [1945-1975], then its international breakthrough. The Eiffage group is doubly original. Firstly because twice, the group had recourse to the acquisition of companies by its employees in order to retain its independence: in 1991, at Fougerolle, faced with Générale des Eaux; in 1992-1993, during the acquisition of SAE. The second reason lies in the variety of trades featured in this group. It became the French, if not the European, leader of structural steel. Its history can also be reconstructed through its archives: the current Eiffage Constructions Métalliques company comes from the merger within the Compagnie Française d’Entreprises Métalliques (ex subsidiary of CFE) of Moisant, Laurent, and Savey, the Établissements Daydé, Baudet, Donon and Roussel, Eiffel (see the Archives Nationales du Monde du Travail in Roubaix and the collections of the Musée d’Orsay), of the Société de Paris-Argenteuil (ex Établissements Joly), Société des Ponts et Travaux en Fer (ex Établissements Joret), and of Société Schwartz-Hautmont. Eiffage has interesting archival collections concerning the history of reinforced steel: Entreprises Limousin, Établissements Fourré & Rhodes, Société Nouvelle de Constructions et de Travaux (SNCT), et Travaux Hydrauliques d’Entreprises Générales (theg). The same applies, with more gaps, to building. To subsidiaries of SAE (Camus, Dumont et Besson, Labalette, Schwartz-Hautmont), those of Quillery which joined this group in 1985, were added (Cogetravoc et Société Nationale de Construction) as well as those of Fougerolle itself (Fougerolle Construction, SNCT, then l’Avenir, the largest workers’ production co-operative in the building sector). The group is no less rich in the area of public works, alongside SAE (Stribick, Castelles Frères and especially André Borie) like Fougerolle (Delens and, especially Ballot, essential for the history of dams). Eiffage, even today, has a large presence in the roads sector, especially in the area of technical innovation. The group has contributed significantly to the construction of roads in concrete (Soliditit Français, then SAFRA-TP, Gailledrat), in asphalt (Soliditit) and in bitumen (Société Chimique et Routière, Gerland), especially for motorways (Beugnet). In the same way, the group has been very active in the area of electricity (Forclum, Clémessy) and became so as regards concessions (Millau Viaduct, parking, now the Autoroutes Paris Rhin Rhône).

Other collections: variety, but uneven value

17In the French construction industry, there are other groups of interest from an historical, and sometimes archival, point of view. Such is the case for SPIE and the companies that have come from this group.

SPIE: A major historical inheritance

18Today, SPIE is limited to electrical installations and networks, turned more towards industrial processes, transporting and finishing works.5 This has not always been the case. The SPIE of today is the heir of SPIE Batignolles. This large company, which for a time, in the 1970s, was the French leader in the construction industry, was born in 1968 from the merger of the Société de Construction des Batignolles (the major collection of the Archives Nationales du Monde du Travail in Roubaix), established in 1846 by Ernest Goüin (1815-1885) and of its parent company since 1953, the Société Parisienne pour l’Industrie Électrique. In 1972, the Compagnie Industrielle de Travaux (CITRA), the public works subsidiary of the Schneider group, was merged into SPIE Batignolles. The archives are conserved at the head office of SPIE. SPIE Batignolles attracted to its orbit numerous interesting companies: Truchetet et Tansini in public works; SPIE in engineering; Coignet in building and civil engineering; Trindel and CEEMTP in electrical installations; Drouard and Comstock (United States of America) in railway works.

Other collections relating to BTP

19A certain number of small and medium sized companies still retain their own archives, such as Chagnaud, a group that has remained independent until today and whose archives seem to be complete.6 Similarly, Chagnaud, led by Léon Chagnaud (1860-1930), played a major part in underground works (first crossing of the metro under the Seine between Châtelet and Saint-Michel) and in the boring of major tunnels (Lötschberg, the Rove), before launching the era of great dams (Éguzon-sur-Creuse). It was especially active in Algeria (the large rockfill dams of Ghrib and Bou Hanifia, the port of Mostaganem) and created in mainland France very large projects (cutting off the Rhone at Génissiat, the power station of Donzère-Mondragon, dam of Grandval). In the Archives Départementales , interesting collections can also be found, thus for the Pascal contractor in Grenoble, or at the Archives Nationales du Monde du Travail in Roubaix, those of the Caquot, Pelnard et Considère firm. In recent years, around the Fayat family, a true construction group has formed, today fourth in rank in the construction industry. It combines interesting entities arising in some cases from steel construction (Castel et Fromaget, Joseph Paris) compaction (Rincheval and in Germany, Bomag), foundations (Franki Fondations, with very rich archives in Belgium), and from earthworks (Bec Frères, Razel, which was the number one in Europe from the 1970s to the 1990s.)

Interest of the archives of large groups which have public service concessions

20Finally, a certain number of archives can be found within the large groups which have public service concessions.7 GDF-Suez partly comes from Lyonnaise des Eaux. Now, within the bosom of this company, Ineo and Ondeo can be found. The first of these companies is in fact the result of a merger between the GTME group (former subsidiary of GTM), Entreprise Industrielle, emanating from the former Durand group nationalised in 1946, specialising in electrical installations (structural work and through its subsidiary, Verger Delporte, finishing works). This company has also inherited, through GTME, electrical installations. Ondeo is only the new name given to the company Degrémont, the world leader in hydraulic engineering. As for Véolia Environnement (ex Générale des Eaux), it offers, with the SADE and the Tuyaux Bonna, remarkable sources for the history of waterworks in France.

21Ultimately, without it being possible to speak of comprehensiveness, it is clear that in France there are a very large number of archives of construction companies. The problem is in access which is often difficult, because the absence of adequate classification and accommodation, the common use of private providers, like the familial character of some archives often constitute an obstacle. The experience of the archives from the Hersent group incites us to re-read The Little Prince and more precisely, the episode of the fox: access to the archives often requires a long winded approach. Finally, the interest, especially for the history of techniques, of archives of construction materials groups (e.g. Saint-Gobain or Lafarge) should not be forgotten.