Two European countries that have a strong cooperative presence: France and Italy

In this third article in a series about the global cooperative movement, we take a look at two European countries that have a strong cooperative presence: France and Italy. The cooperative movement first began on this continent, early in the 19th century. Today, there are more than 300,000 cooperatives in Europe, with more than 140 million members.

The cooperative movement in France

• • More than 21,000 cooperatives
• • More than 23 million members
• • 260 billion euros in sales

Major sectors

Cooperatives are active in many sectors of the French economy.

Since it's difficult to know exactly how many French cooperatives there are, the national government published a study on France's top 100 cooperatives in 2010. These businesses have:

• A combined sales of 181 billion euros
• 22 million members
• Close to 674,000 employees

Among these 100 cooperatives, there are:

• 3 major banking groups
  • Close to 70 million customer accounts
  • 60% of bank deposits in France
  • More than 20.5 million members
  • More than 320,000 employees
  • More than 21,000 agencies throughout France
• 65 agricultural cooperatives
  • More than 300,000 cooperative associates
  • More than 100,000 employees
• 24 merchant cooperatives
  • More than 220,000 employees

The main sector is agriculture, with 75% of farmers belonging to a cooperative.

• 40% of French cooperatives
• More than 160,000 employees
• 82.8 billion euros in sales
• 2,900 agricultural cooperatives (SICAs)
• 13,400 machinery sharing agreements (CUMAs)

Other relevant information

• 47 French cooperatives are on the Global 300 list.
• 6 French cooperatives on the Global 300 are participating in the Summit.

Source:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coop%C3%A9rative#Les_coop.C3.A9ratives_en_France (in French only)

The cooperative movement in Italy

• Close to 70,000 cooperatives
• Approximately 13 million members

Major sectors

Italian cooperatives are active in all sectors of the economy, and have benefited from establishing business networks and joint operations with one another.

Other relevant information

¹http://www.cooperazione.net/eng/pagina.asp?pid=386&uid=383

• 30 Italian cooperatives are on the Global 300 list.
• 1 Italian cooperative on the Global 300 list is participating in the Summit.