France Travail, the French government’s national employment agency, and the private-sector group GBH have formalized a partnership aimed at boosting employment in France’s overseas departments, a set of Caribbean and Indian Ocean territories where joblessness remains a persistent pressure point.
The agreement was signed by Nicolas Assier de Pompigan, CEO of GBH, and Frédéric Toubeau, deputy CEO of France Travail. The announcement lands as economic indicators in the overseas departments—known in France as the “DOM”—struggle to regain momentum.
GBH is a major employer across the French Antilles, French Guiana and Réunion, with operations spanning food retail and agribusiness. The parties did not disclose operational details, including targeted hiring volumes or which sectors would be prioritized, based on the information available.
Business failures rose across the overseas departments in 2025
The timing is closely tied to a worsening business climate. Across 2025, cumulative business failures in France’s overseas departments rose 10%, according to figures cited by France-Antilles.
That headline number masks sharp differences by territory. French Guiana posted the most alarming jump: business failures rose 135% in the most recent quarter reported, after a 440% surge in the prior quarter. Guadeloupe recorded a 27% increase.
Martinique and Réunion moved in the opposite direction, with business failures down 14% and 5%, respectively, over the same recent period—though the broader picture remains fragile.
2026 outlook: slow improvement, with a risk of knock-on effects
Looking ahead to 2026, the outlook described by experts cited by France-Antilles remains bleak, with weak expected growth and limited impact from monetary policy pointing to only gradual improvement.
Analysts are also focused on the risk of a domino effect. New U.S. tariff barriers could trigger up to 6,000 additional bankruptcies in France in the worst-case scenario, the article said.
For overseas businesses, the threat is twofold: potential disruptions in international supply chains and a rise in unpaid invoices from foreign commercial partners that are themselves under strain. In that context, a formal agreement between a major private employer in the overseas departments and France’s main public employment operator carries weight beyond institutional messaging.
Who GBH and France Travail are—and what the partnership is meant to do
GBH is one of the most established private groups in France’s overseas territories, with activities that include food distribution, automotive and hospitality. Assier de Pompigan signed the deal alongside Toubeau, France Travail’s second-in-command.
France Travail was created in December 2008 and is headquartered in Paris. Its remit covers all of France, including overseas territories, with a core mission of placing job seekers and supporting employers with recruitment.
The GBH partnership fits into an approach France Travail has already pursued in the overseas departments: bringing large private employers closer to local pools of job seekers, who are often more numerous and less mobile than in mainland France.
A long-term signal, with French Guiana as an early test
For now, the agreement amounts to a statement of intent, with concrete effects still to be measured. France’s overseas territories face structurally high unemployment, narrow labor markets and heavy reliance on a small number of dominant economic players—GBH among them.
With French Guiana’s “catastrophic” indicators, the territory is likely to become the first real test of whether this kind of public-private partnership can hold up under economic stress in the months ahead.
Sources
Source: France-Antilles, “Entreprises dans les DOM : une vague de défaillances qui n’épargne personne” (martinique.franceantilles.fr)
