The meetings of the Association of Small Towns of France (AVPF) will be held in Amboise on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 September. Beforehand, the president of the AVPF, Christophe Bouillon, mayor of Barentin (Seine-Maritime), answered our questions.
How do you react to the comments made by the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, accusing local authorities of increasing the public deficit?
Christophe Bouillon : “This makes no sense and we strongly contested his statement. Unlike the State, each municipality must present a balanced budget. Each project must therefore have its financing, either by borrowing or by taxation. Or else small towns make savings. It is a bad accusation to make people believe that local authorities do not know how to manage their budgets.”
Do not hinder the good ideas of local elected officials
However, project financing is a delicate subject in many municipalities, with in particular an increase in expenditure…
“It is important to know that small towns have been greatly impacted by inflation. The energy bill has doubled or tripled in some municipalities. Cities have also suffered from food inflation for catering services.
Not to mention the additional costs imposed by government decisions taken without consultation. The increase in the index point of our agents or new standards imposed have inevitably impacted our budgets.
The increase in spending is also due to the fact that we are in the final stretch of the municipal mandate. This is when projects come to fruition and necessarily involve more cash. All this in a context where the government is encouraging communities to make efforts on the ecological transition while reducing the green fund, and with the Regions and Departments also seeing their finances drained.
In this context, do you not fear an intensification of the crisis of vocations?
“We still have many elected officials who remain motivated. This is why our conference is titled “the bet on non-artificial intelligence”Local elected officials know their territory, and it is important not to break goodwill.
We must let elected officials work, avoiding putting obstacles in their way and not forgetting that they also carry out missions for the State.
Small towns in France have 26 million inhabitants and guarantee a significant economic fabric. We must trust elected officials to contribute positively to growth in their territory. This is what we will remind the future government.
Many elected officials face violence, including in smaller towns. How can we deal with it?
“It is unacceptable to see an elected official assaulted, threatened verbally or physically when he simply wants to enforce the rules and ensure a form of peace. Even if there have been efforts with the gendarmerie with an acceleration of procedures to judge those guilty of such attacks who also target municipal agents.
We demand that mayors be able to benefit from the same legal protection as police officers and firefighters. We must send a message: “When you attack an elected official, you pay dearly.” A way to counter this wave of distrust towards all authority figures.”
