Like the State and Social Security, local authorities are asked to contribute to the budgetary effort in 2025, for 5 billion euros: they have already announced that they will not accept ” none “ puncture.
The Minister of the Budget Laurent Saint-Martin and the Minister of Partnership with the Territories and Decentralization Catherine Vautrin went on Tuesday to present their plan to the Local Finance Committee, meeting at the National Assembly.
The main mechanism planned is a savings fund which would be imposed on the 450 “bigger” communities, for a brake of 2.8 billion euros on spending.
This savings would be “returned” subsequently, according to terms yet to be defined, and twenty departments “sensitive” will be spared.
Another announcement, a freeze on the annual revaluation of VAT revenue received by communities. Economy: between 1.3 and 1.5 billion euros.
The third measure proposed by the State would weigh on the fund which is normally used to compensate for the VAT paid by communities. This should bring in 800 million euros.
“On the Barnier line”
In a context where local authorities have been on edge in recent weeks, since a document from Bercy, under former minister Bruno Le Maire, accused them of having deteriorated the public deficit to the tune of 16 billion euros this year, and the Court of Auditors suggested cutting some 100,000 jobs, ministers were expected to turn the corner.
“They were on the Barnier line, +partnership, dialogue, respect, what stupidity to have mentioned the slippage of communities, it is not true and we know it+”André Laignel, president of the local finance commission and deputy vice-president of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), told the press.
But, he said, communities “do not accept any of the measures” presented.
“There is no need to give us sympathetic speeches about regaining confidence when immediate actions are, conversely, flouted words”launched the chosen one.
The measures presented “guarantee the breakdown of departmental investments”et “a brutal brake on the investments of the municipal bloc”he added.
Reactions are just as hostile among representatives of other local authorities.
Departments of France underlined in a press release that in terms of public deficit, the expression “local authorities” didn’t have “no sense”as their differences are great, and that “pass everyone through the plane indiscriminately” could not “lead only to catastrophe”.
“The Regions cannot be the solution to an overly spending and inefficient State”reacted for her part Carole Delga, president of Regions of France and the Occitanie region, arguing in a press release that the regions “today account for 12% of public investment in all territories for only 1% of the national debt”.
Finally, for the Association of Small Towns in France (APVF), if it is “absolutely necessary to redress the nation’s accounts”these efforts should not be made at the “price of community investment”.
« Excuse »
For a government source present at the National Assembly on Tuesday, the atmosphere was “overall very courteous”despite “a somewhat harsh intervention” of a president of the Departmental Council.
This source also observes that the 5 billion requested represent “12.5% of the overall savings effort” of 40 billion euros required in 2025 from public administrations – in addition to 20 billion in additional taxes – “while communities represent 20% of public spending”.
The debt of communities represents only 208 billion euros out of the 3,228 billion of public debt as a whole, maintained for his part Mr. Laignel.
Communities are now counting on the parliamentary debate to amend in a more favorable direction the finance bill which will be presented Thursday evening to the Council of Ministers.
Like the State and Social Security, local authorities are asked to contribute to the budgetary effort in 2025, for 5 billion euros / Thierry Zoccolan / AFP/Archives
The Local Finance Committee was finally frustrated not to receive any document supporting the announcements, Mr. Laignel judging that the ministers had « l’excuse » of a very tight schedule due to the dissolution.
Departments and single local authorities (CTU) exempt from contributing to the “savings fund” announced Tuesday are: Aisne, Ardennes, Ariège, Aude, Aveyron, Creuse, Corsica, Gard, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Hérault, Lozère, Martinique, Mayotte, Nièvre, Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Pyrénées-Orientales, Réunion and Seine-Saint-Denis.
