Unlike the rest of Zuberoa, the commune’s economic activity revolves around industry, with agriculture being virtually non-existent. The labour force is very large, and it is estimated that over 40% of Mauléon’s population is engaged in various economic activities. This high percentage is a consequence of the commune’s age structure. Agriculture is practically negligible, accounting for barely 2% of the total labour force.
According to the 1982 census, the total working population was 1,924 people, broken down as follows: 1,114 manual workers, 127 self-employed workers, 153 employers, 239 professionals and 291 employees. The total number of people in employment was 1,863, distributed across the following sectors: 1,111 in industry, 703 in services and 49 in the primary sector.
Industry has been the most significant economic activity; within this, the footwear sector stood out. It was a sector with a long tradition, structured around small, family-run businesses.
Espadrilles and the economy of Mauléon
Emigration, so significant in Zuberoa and so detrimental to agriculture, lies at the origin of the espadrille industry. Indeed, emigrants would commission the espadrilles they were accustomed to in Mauléon, as they could not find them in America. To quote Th. Lefebvre:
“In 1868, emigrants settled in Argentina ed that espadrille soles be sent to them from their home country, as there were many espadrille makers working from home; the espadrille makers of the Mauléon region sent them via couriers who collected them by carriage. In this way, the development of overseas trade was what initiated and fostered the major industry of the Mauléon region. The espadrille makers had jute thread brought in from Dunkirk, with which they hand-wove the braid needed to make the soles of the espadrilles.”
The espadrille manufacturer appeared in Mauléon from 1850 onwards. In reality, he did not manufacture them himself, but rather purchased the raw materials, organised and distributed the piecework, collected the finished product, stored it, sold it and exported it.
It was the Béguerie family who played a leading role in Mauléon in the emergence of this activity. He sent work to the homes of some peasants for whom this secondary activity provided an additional source of income—admittedly modest, but novel and by no means insignificant. The pieceworker stitched, assembled and sewed the espadrilles or sandals, as they were called in Mauléon, on the famous trapezoidal wooden benches. Everyone took part, especially women and children.
The raw materials included canvas, initially manufactured locally and later imported, until a son of the Béguerie family opened a weaving mill in Mauléon in 1910, as well as esparto grass rope, initially brought from Spain, and later jute, sourced from India and other Asian countries.
This activity expanded rapidly and the number of espadrille makers multiplied. In 1864, massive orders from Brazil and Venezuela made the manufacturers wealthy. By 1868, four-fifths of espadrille production was destined for La Plata, Argentina and Uruguay, where the people of Soule maintained active contacts. During the first thirty years (1850–1880), espadrille manufacturing was almost exclusively the preserve of local farmers.
From 1880 onwards, Mauléon’s industry became concentrated in the Béguerie, Cherbero and Barraqué factories, as well as others established at that time. It experienced great prosperity with the advent of electric motors. Some manufacturers built their own hydroelectric power stations on the river (Cherbero, Béguerie). New markets emerged, and the mines in northern France were major consumers of espadrilles.
The local workforce was insufficient, and from 1875 onwards, industrialists called upon workers from Aragon and Roncales, who formed a seasonal workforce, and many of them settled in the town. In 1891, immigrants made up 21% of Mauléon’s population, rising to 31% by 1911.
Mauléon’s economic development continued after the First World War. New industrialists emerged: Bidegain, Pourtau; the Barraqué factory, founded in 1865, passed to the son-in-law, Henri Saubiette, and became the Saubiette factory in 1924. Aguer opened his factory around 1920, Etchandy in the 1930s, as did René Elissabide.
A new espadrille with a rubber sole emerged around 1935 at René Elissabide’s factory, which launched the Regum brand, and later, in the 1950s, the Pataugas brand.
In the 1960s, foreign competition, mainly from Asia, became increasingly evident. Production fell by 20%. Elissabide closed in 1965. In the 1970s, production, which had recovered somewhat, was once again faced with competition, first from Spain and then from China.
In 1985, Mauléon was hit by the crisis affecting traditional industries: the espadrille factories, of which there had been around 40 in 1946, had dwindled to just five in Mauléon. Only one major company remained, Etchandy, which employed over 200 people and was on the verge of closing down at the start of the 21st century.
The espadrille has shaped the destiny of Mauléon and the economy of Zuberoa for over a century. Today, this unique industry is fortunately complemented by innovative and diverse activities: the agri-food industry, cheese dairies, woven fabrics (Tissages du Saison, Ets. Béguerie), rubber safety boots (Ets. Etchegoyhen), engineering, composite materials, metalwork, IT, services and many more.
The service sector is the other major pillar of Mauléon’s economic activity. By the end of the 20th century, it employed 38% of the total workforce.
Alongside the commune’s own services, there are others whose scope extends beyond the municipal boundaries. Mauléon has a General and Maternity Hospital with a capacity of 35 beds and two doctors’ surgeries. The municipality belongs to the Oloron health district, whose catchment area exerts a significant influence on Zuberoa.
There were also 7 banking institutions (2 savings banks and 5 banks) and 3 hotels with a capacity for 50 people. Connections with the Bayonne area and the coastal Basque Country are via Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Cambo-les-Bains. Mauléon is a railway terminus. The railway line linking to Bayonne and, consequently, to the coastal strip, runs via Sauveterre-de-Bearn and Puyoô, outside the historical boundaries of the Basque Country.