Faced with the generalized increase in prices which is also suffocating local communities, 146 local environmentalists elected demand more resources from the state to guarantee a quality public service in the communities. Here is their forum: We, local elected officials and parliamentarians, launch an appeal to alert the government to the unsustainable situation of local finances, aggravated by the inflation and the exponential cost of power . We ask for the means to fulfill our mission, to guarantee a quality public service as close as possible to the daily life of the French people.
At the center of contradictory injunctions, we are caught in a pincer movement, locked in an orchestrated budgetary grip. Like all our fellow citizens, we are bearing the full brunt of rising energy prices. The amount of the bills doubles, sometimes triples. We helplessly witness the erosion of our budget, which has already been reduced by successive reforms. Insufficient state compensation is compounded by technocratic rules and policies, which eliminate communities and create insecurity for all.
Correctly guide the ecological transition
We don’t want to be confined to the role of impoverished manager. We want to implement the public policies for which we were elected. This requires room for manoeuvre.
We refuse to acquiesce in the degradation of public service. The government is forcing us to close some facilities – swimming pools, gyms, libraries… – or to reduce their opening hours. Every day, as the situation worsens, new restrictions are feared: the increase in the price of canteens, or even public transport. How far will we go?
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Alongside the essential role of local authorities for social cohesion, we, local elected representatives, play a decisive role in the concrete implementation of the ecological transition. In addition to being hypocritical, the government’s policy is irresponsible, depriving this transition of its best asset: the diversity of the territories. Nothing can be done in this area without the concert of the territories and the inhabitants who occupy them. Without investment capacity, without financial autonomy, how to achieve the ecological transition?
More financial autonomy for the territories
Supporters of an alleged decentralization and aware of these difficulties, we parliamentarians are mobilizing, but we face the democratic denial of the government, with 49-3 blows.
In the National Assembly, we, Green MEPs, have put forward numerous proposals to open room for maneuver to local authorities, such as compensating for the nearest “euro” the increase in energy prices, or even increasing their financial autonomy by strengthening the their energy tax policy.
In the Senate, “territorial chamber”, several improvements were wrested from the government. A large majority expressed support for increasing the overall operating grant to account for inflation. A dozen amendments have made improvements in favor of households, climate plans or the energy transition of small businesses. The maintenance of the CVAE, this local tax which binds companies to their territory and involves 75% of the largest of them, was voted against by the senatorial majority. But this vow was not fulfilled. These transpartisan advances were swept by a 49-3 tenth.
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We want to preserve our public services and citizens’ trust in those who make them work. We want to massively deploy the ecological transition in the heart of the territories and strengthen social cohesion. We want, in the face of a Jacobin and liberal state, to preserve our autonomy and our ability to act.
This forum was written on the initiative of Daniel Breuiller, Evas Sas and the entire Senate environmental group.
List of signatories:
- Guillaume Gontard, Senator, President of the Ecologist, Solidarity and Territories Group of the Senate
- Daniel Breuiller, Senator from Val-de-Marne, environmental leader on the 2023 Finance Law
- Eva Sas, deputy from Paris, group leader on the 2023 Budget
- François Alfonsi, MEP
- Pierric Amella, municipal councilor of Pantin
- Nacime Amimar, municipal councilor of Pantin
- Christine Arrighi, deputy for Haute-Garonne
- Nadia Azoug, vice-president of the departmental council of Seine-Saint-Denis, municipal councilor of Pantin
- Vital Baude, municipal councilor of Arcachon
- Pascal Barbier, municipal councilor of Grand Ouest Toulousain, municipal councilor of Plaisance du Touch
- Sébastien Barles, deputy mayor of Marseille
- Michel Basset, mayor of Sainte-Marie-d’Alloix
- Karim Ben Cheikh, MP for French people living outside France
- Carole Bernhard, municipal councilor of Beaune
- Pascal Bertolini, Val d’Oise departmental councillor
- Luis Beltran-Lopez, municipal councilor of Grenoble
- Guy Benarroche, Senator of the Bouches-du-Rhône
- Bruno Béziade, departmental councilor of the Gironde
- Xavier Bigot, city councilor of Carcassonne
- Benoit Biteau, MEP
- Pascale Bonniel Chalier, regional councilor of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- Katia Bourdin, regional councilor of New Aquitaine
- Frédéric Bourdon, municipal councilor of Vitry-sur-Seine
- Yannick Brohard, regional councilor for Hauts-de-France
- Catherine Candelier, municipal councilor of Sèvres
- Joëlle Chalavoux, departmental councilor of Aude
- Damien Caremé, MEP
- Cyrielle Chatelain, deputy for Isère, president of the group of ecologists in the National Assembly
- Tessa Chaumillon, departmental councilor of Seine-Saint-Denis
- Sander Cisinski, deputy mayor of Les Lilas
- David Cormand, MEP
- Alexandre Cousin, regional councilor for Hauts-de-France
- Muriel Courtay, municipal councilor of Cholet
- Françoise Coutant, regional councilor of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, municipal councilor of Angoulême, municipal councilor of Greater Angoulême
- Ronan Dantec, Senator of Loire-Atlantique
- Didier Damestoy, regional councilor of New Aquitaine
- Alexis Debuisson, municipal councilor of Armentières
- Monique De Marco, Senator of the Gironde
- Olwen Denes, departmental councilor of Ille-et-Vilaine, co-chair of the environmental, federalist and citizen group
- Frédérique Denis, departmental councilor of Seine-Saint-Denis
- Marc Denis, vice president of the urban community of Cergy-Pontoise
- Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, Member of the European Parliament
- Karima Delli, MEP, regional councilor of Hauts-de-France
- Béatrice Delorme, mayor of St Germain au Mont d’Or
- Agnès Destriau, departmental councilor of the Gironde
- Glen Dissaux, vice president of the Brest Metropolis
- Thomas Dossus, Senator of the Rhone
- Gregory Doucet, mayor of Lyon,
- Virginie Drapier, municipal councilor of Ronchin
- Dominique Dufumier, deputy mayor of Fosses
- Jean-Luc Dumesnil, regional councilor of Île-de-France
- Jolie Dupuy, regional councilor of Brittany
- Mixel Esteban, municipal councilor of Bayonne
- Vinciane Faber, mayor of Louvil
- Jean-Laurent Félizia, municipal councilor Le Lavandou
- Jacques Fernique, Senator of the Bas-Rhin
- Kattalin Fortuné, departmental councilor of Aude
- Françoise Foubert, municipal councilor of Couëron
- Benoît Foucher, town and municipal councilor of the Pays de Châteaugiron
- Brigitte Fournié-Turquin, departmental councilor of Aisne
- Noé Froissart, city councilor of the 1st arrondissement of Lyon
- Nicolas Gamache, regional councilor of New Aquitaine
- Alain Garnier, Mayor of Artigues-près-Bordeaux
- Aurélie Genolher, mayor of Massillargues-Atuech, regional councilor of Occitania
- Elodie Girardet, departmental councilor of Seine-Saint-Denis
- Jérémie Godet, 2nd Vice-President of the Center Val de Loire region
- Jean-Claude Gouze, mayor of Senconac
- Claude Gruffat, MEP
- Dylan Guelton, Magnanville city councilman
- Maël Guiziou, Departmental Councilor for the North
- Betsabée Haas, deputy mayor of Tours, Centre-Val de Loire regional councilor
- Sabrina Haerinck, city councilor of Chambery
- Catherine Hervieu, departmental councilor of the Côte-d’Or
- Pierre Hurmic, mayor of Bordeaux
- Thomas Hutin, regional councilor for Hauts-de-France
- Jérémie Iordanoff, deputy for Isère
- Yannick Jadot, MEP
- Jonathan Janssens, municipal councilor of Tourcoing
- Stéphane Jouault, deputy mayor of Montpellier
- Florian Kobrin, councilor of Alsace
- Patrick Labesse, vice president of Bordeaux Métropole
- Joël Labbé, Senator of Morbihan
- Julie Laernoes, deputy for Loire-Atlantique
- Annie Lahmer, regional councilor of Ile-de-France
- Gaëlle Lahoreau, Centre-Val de Loire regional councilor
- Jean-Luc Lancelevee, Deputy Mayor of Cardon Blanc
- Anne Launay, departmental councilor of Essonne
- LoÏc Le Hir, regional councilor of Brittany
- Gérard Lévy, municipal councilor in Les Clayes sous bois
- Franck Loiseau, municipal councilor of Cholet
- Coralie Mantion, vice president of the Métropole de Montpellier
- Jean Mariaud, municipal official elected in Rochefort
- Richard Marion, councilor of the Métropole de Lyon
- Jacqueline Markovic, departmental councilor of the Hérault
- Antoine Maurice, city councilor of Toulouse
- Christian Métairie, mayor of Arcueil
- Pierre Mériaux, deputy mayor of Grenoble
- Anne Mikolajczak, departmental councilor of Lille
- Didier Missenard, deputy mayor of Orsay
- Léonore Moncond, mayor of Poitiers
- Yann Mongaburu, vice president of Grenoble Alpes Métropole
- Waleed Mouhali, municipal councilor in Garenne-Colombe
- Xavier Normand, Mayor of Castanet-Tolosan
- Jean-Claude Olivia, Vice-President of the Est Ensemble Grand Paris
- Francesca Pasquini, deputy of the Hauts-de-Seine
- Bruno Paternot, municipal and metropolitan councilor of Montpellier
- Nicolas Perrin, vice president of the Ille-et-Vilaine department
- Sébastien Peytavie, MP for the Dordogne
- Marion Pichot, departmental councilor of Charente-Maritime
- Claire Pinto, municipal councilor of Palaiseau
- Eric Piolle, mayor of Grenoble
- Marie Pochon, deputy of the Drôme
- Raymonde Poncet Monge, Senator of the Rhône
- Sophia Popoff, councilor of the Métropole de Lyon
- Clémence Pourroy, municipal councilor of Poitiers
- Sylvie Quilan, departmental councilor of Ille-et-Vilaine
- Jean-Claude Raux, deputy for Loire-Atlantique
- Claude Reznik, deputy mayor of Puechredon
- Nicolas Richard, regional councilor for Hauts-de-France
- Michele Rivasi, MEP
- Robert Rochaud, assistant budget and finance in Poitiers
- Caroline Roose, MEP
- Clément Rossignol Puech, mayor of Bègles
- Mirjam Rudin, deputy mayor of Pantin
- Daniel Salmon, Senator of Ille et Vilaine
- Laetitia Sanchez, mayor of Saint-Pierre du Vauvray
- Mounir Satouri, MEP
- Jérémy Savatier, municipal councilor of Ascain
- Céline Scavennec, Departmental Councilor for the North
- Benoît Sciberras, city councilor of Lyon
- Sabrina Sebaihi, MP from Hauts-de-Seine
- Ghislaine Senée, regional councilor of Ile-de-France
- Jean-Marc Soubeste, departmental councilor of Charente-Maritime
- Sophie Taille Polian, MP from Val-de-Marne
- Pascal Tatibouet, deputy mayor of Auterive
- Pierre Toulouse, municipal councilor of Vanves
- Marine Tondelier, national secretary of EELV, regional councilor of Hauts-de-France, municipal councilor of Hénin-Beaumont
- Paul Toussaint Paris, Senator of Upper Corsica
- Marie Toussaint, Member of the European Parliament
- Stéphane Trifiletti, regional councilor of New Aquitaine
- Marie-Michelle Vialleton, departmental councilor of the Loire
- Anne Vignot, Mayor of Besançon, President of Grand Besançon Métropole
- Mélanie Vogel, Senator of the French living outside France
- Julien Wojcieszak, first deputy mayor of Vimy
- Katy Vuylsteker, regional councilor of Hauts-de-France
- Mélissa Youssouf, departmental vice president of Seine-Saint-Denis
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