La Palanquée

What La Palanquée does

La Palanquée is a French cooperative (SCIC — Société Coopérative d'Intérêt Collectif) operating a multi-service tiers-lieu (third place) in Sète, in the Occitanie region, serving residents, professionals, entrepreneurs, and youth across the Bassin de Thau territory. It was initially conceived in 2016 through community meetings, formally incorporated as SCIC on September 24, 2019 with €40,000 of capital and 13 associates, and moved into a renovated 800m² Haussmann-style building at 3bis rue Gabriel Péri in late 2020 / 2021. Its activities are co-governed with the Association Sète en commun, with voting rights distributed across four stakeholder colleges: project initiators (45%), employees and residents (15%), territorial authorities (25%), and local partners (15%).

The cooperative operates six core service lines under one roof: (i) La Palantine, a café-cantine open Monday–Friday 9h–16h serving international/vegetarian cuisine with a daily-changing menu; (ii) coworking space and private offices plus meeting-room rental for professionals; (iii) a FabLab with digital fabrication equipment plus a mobile FabLab van ("fourgon FabLab") that tours communes across the Bassin de Thau; (iv) a pre-incubation program for ecological and social innovation projects; (v) the Coopérative Jeunesse de Services (CJS) summer program for 16–18-year-olds; and (vi) social-connection workshops and learning visits under the Atelier du Lien. The organization holds the "Fabrique numérique de territoire" label and is part of the France Tiers Lieux network.

Revenue is generated through a mix of transaction-based café sales, recurring coworking and room-rental subscriptions, professional services for digital initiation programs, one-time event-venue licensing, and — most critically — public grants from the State, Région Occitanie, Département de l'Hérault, Sète agglopôle Méditerranée, and European funds. The technology stack is light, centered on digital fabrication hardware (CNC and prototyping machines) rather than software; there is no proprietary AI/ML, app, or API offering. Day-to-day operations are supported by approximately 15 employees plus a broader community of volunteers, residents, and project leaders.

Name

La Palanquée

Legal name

SCIC La Palanquée

Website

https://lapalanquee.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

La Palanquée is a French cooperative tiers-lieu in Sète operating a café-cantine, coworking spaces, a FabLab with mobile outreach, a project incubator, and youth programs, serving residents, entrepreneurs, and local organizations across the Bassin de Thau territory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Third Place (Tiers-lieu) / Coworking and Shared Workspace

NAICS

Facilities Support Services (56121), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Coworking Cafes / Work Cafes (THAFADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Independent Neighborhood Cafes (THAFADAC)

Keywords

• Community third place
• Coworking space rental
• Digital fabrication lab
• Business incubator program
• Community cafe canteen

Headquarters

HQ city

Sète

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Café-Cantine (La Palantine): Restaurant café operating Monday to Friday 9h-16h, offering vegetarian and international cuisine with daily changing menu, snacking options for budgets, and traditional comfort food. Revenue from food and beverage sales.
2. Coworking and Room Rental: Flexible workspace rental including coworking desks and private offices, meeting rooms and workshop spaces available for rental to professionals and organizations.
3. Incubator Services: Pre-incubation program for innovative ecological and social enterprise projects, with application-based selection process.
4. Digital Initiation Programs: Digital literacy and numerical initiation pathways, including support for digital usage and proximity social activities.
5. Event Venue Rental: Modular café-cantine space convertible to event venue for themed events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

La Palanquée is a multi-service collaborative civic third place (tiers-lieu citoyen) based in Sète, France, operating a café-cantine (La Palantine), coworking spaces and meeting room rentals, a FabLab for digital fabrication with a mobile unit, a pre-incubation program for ecological and social innovation projects, a Coopérative Jeunesse de Services (CJS) youth program, and social connection workshops. The 800 m² Haussmann-style building serves as the physical hub, with mobile FabLab outreach extending across the Bassin de Thau territory.

Product overview

La Palanquée is a multi-service collaborative civic third-place (tiers-lieu) offering a platform of interconnected services. The core offering includes: La Palantine cafe-canteen providing daily-changing international cuisine; coworking spaces and meeting room rentals for professionals; a FabLab with both fixed and mobile digital fabrication capabilities; a business incubator for ecological and social innovation projects; a Youth Service Cooperative (CJS) program for teenage entrepreneurship; and social connection workshops. The 800m² Haussmann-style building in central Sète serves as the physical hub, with mobile services extending across the Bassin de Thau territory.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Palantine: The café-cantine of La Palanquée, offering globally-inspired cuisine with a daily-changing menu, vegetarian options, and traditional dishes. Open Monday to Friday 9h-16h.

Products and services

• La Palantine (café-cantine) Café-cantine serving world-inspired cuisine with a daily-changing menu, vegetarian options, and traditional dishes, open Monday to Friday 9h-16h, also functioning as a culinary experimentation space for aspiring chefs. Targets local residents, workers, and visitors seeking affordable, international-inspired cuisine in a warm atmosphere.
• Coworking et Location de Salles Shared coworking spaces and private offices available for rent, along with meeting rooms for professionals and events. Targets remote workers, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses seeking flexible workspace and a professional community.
• FabLab et Fabrique Numérique Digital fabrication laboratory offering access to CNC machines and prototyping equipment, with both a fixed location in Sète and a mobile fablab van (fourgon fablab mobile) touring communes across the Bassin de Thau region. Targets makers, artisans, artists, businesses, youth, and residents seeking digital fabrication access and training.
• Incubateur de Projets Innovants Pre-incubation program supporting entrepreneurs developing projects focused on ecological transition and social innovation, providing identification, valorization, and accompaniment from idea to business creation. Targets innovative project leaders (porteurs de projets) seeking structured incubation, business development support, and access to networks.
• Coopérative Jeunesse de Services (CJS) Summer program enabling 16-18 year olds to create and manage a mini-service enterprise, learning entrepreneurship, democracy, and collective decision-making with support from mentors and facilitators. Targets youth aged 16-18 seeking entrepreneurship experience and democratic governance learning.
• Atelier du Lien Activities and workshops focused on social connection, solidarity, and community building, particularly serving the center-city neighborhood of Sète and the broader Bassin de Thau territory. Targets local residents and community members seeking digital inclusion, social connection, and skills sharing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 third places exist in France, demonstrating market demand for tiers-lieu model
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sète agglopôle MéditerranéecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Territorial authority and major stakeholder in the SCIC La Palanquée, holding 25% of voting rights. Provides local premises and strategic support for the tiers-lieu project in the Sète agglopôle territory.
• Sète en commun (Association)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Founding association that initiated the tiers-lieu project. Co-governs activities alongside SCIC - association handles FabLab, digital support, and social link activities. Holds significant stake in SCIC governance.
• Syndicat Mixte du Bassin de ThaucoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Mixed union of Bassin de Thau territory, partner in the SCIC governance structure supporting territorial development and cohesion initiatives.
• BGE Est OccitanieminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Business creation support organization, partner in SCIC providing expertise and support for entrepreneurship development within the incubator program.
• CAE CrealeadminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Cooperative of business creators, partner in SCIC providing entrepreneurial support services and expertise for the incubator activities.
• Airdie France ActiveminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Association supporting entrepreneurship and solidarity economy, partner providing financial and advisory support for social enterprise creation.
• PolarisminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Local partner enterprise involved in SCIC governance, contributing to territorial economic development initiatives.
• Odile KirchnercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Former Déléguée interministérielle à l'économie sociale et solidaire, key initiator who provided strategic vision and impetus for the ambitious multi-activity tiers-lieu project, acting as project pilot.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Make ICI: Make ICI operates multiple maker spaces across France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille) offering digital fabrication equipment, training, and coworking for makers and small businesses. Comparable to La Palanquée's FabLab component and mission of democratizing access to fabrication tools.
• La Myne: La Myne is a tiers-lieu in Lyon combining a FabLab, coworking space, and community programming. It is the closest analog to La Palanquée in terms of multi-service community-driven model with digital fabrication as a core pillar.
• Plateau Fertile: Plateau Fertile is a cooperative tiers-lieu in Paris supporting social and ecological entrepreneurs through coworking, event space, and incubation services. Comparable to La Palanquée's incubator + coworking + community combination under a cooperative governance structure.
• Cargo (Caen): Cargo is a third place in Caen occupying a former industrial building, offering coworking, event space, restaurant, and collaborative programming. Comparable to La Palanquée's café + coworking + event hybrid model in a mid-sized French city.
• Le 100e Singe: Le 100e Singe is a cooperative workspace in Paris offering shared offices, meeting rooms, and community programming for entrepreneurs and associations. Comparable to La Palanquée's coworking, meeting room rental, and community-oriented cooperative model.

Others

• France Tiers-Lieux: France Tiers-Lieux is the national network of French third places (over 1,000 members) of which La Palanquée is a member. Relevant as the umbrella ecosystem that defines the category, shares best practices, and lobbies for the tiers-lieu model at the national level.
• La Coopérative des Tiers-Lieux: La Coopérative des Tiers-Lieux is the national cooperative of French third places representing the tiers-lieu ecosystem. Relevant as a peer organization enabling benchmarking, shared resources, and political advocacy for member third places like La Palanquée.

Broad incumbents

• La Ruche: La Ruche is a network of coworking and incubation spaces across France focused on social entrepreneurs. Comparable to La Palanquée's incubator + coworking offering, though operating at larger scale and multiple locations.
• La Cordée: La Cordée is a French network of coworking and shared workspaces combining work space with community events and entrepreneurship support. Comparable to La Palanquée's coworking and community-building model, though it operates commercially rather than as a cooperative.
• La Friche la Belle de Mai: La Friche la Belle de Mai is a large cultural third place in Marseille occupying a former tobacco factory with cultural, coworking, and event programming. Comparable as a multi-activity French third place but on a much larger scale and with a stronger cultural-arts focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tierslieuLaPalanquee
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lapalanquee
• Instagraminstagram.com/lapalanquee

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La Palanquée