The 20 years of the law on disabled people offer a lever to disseminate the messages of the mayors of France: their sense of responsibility makes the effectiveness of public inclusion policies possible, thanks to the proximity between the decision and the place where it applies. The progress report on the law will open the 106th congress of the Association of Mayors of France, as a prelude to a year of raising awareness among its members around the great cause of former President of the Republic Jacques Chirac.
Fortunately for inclusion
“Luckily, the municipalities”… David Lisnard, president of the mayors of France and mayor of the Republicans of Cannes (Alpes Maritimes), applies the slogan of the congress to disabled people, before making it the refrain, theme by theme, of his presentation of the event, in starting with schools and early childhood.
“Fortunately, the municipalities, for the roads and bridges, which were given to us in very poor condition », squeaks the president. It focuses on the energy and ecological transition, “a source of €9 billion in investments per year, three times more than ten years ago, but we still need to double this effort,” insists David Lisnard.
A purge estimated at €11 billion
The mention of local finances leads to the dark side of the presentation of the issues of the congress, in the face of a State “become impotent, by dint of being omnipotent”according to the expression of André Laignel, first vice-president of the association and president of the Local Finance Committee.
With the presidents of the finance committees of the two assemblies, the big financier of the mayors of France knocked in vain on the door of Bercy. “We asked for the figures which would justify the accusation of communities in the deterioration of public accounts,” testifies André Laignel.
According to him, the €5 billion in drains on territorial budgets would only make up a small half of the “purge” which he figures at 11 billion, integrating the reductions in resources and the new charges included in the finance bill. “Let the Minister of the Budget come and debate it,” suggests the first vice-president and socialist mayor of Issoudun (Indre).
An economy of risk
Eternal themes of mayors' congresses, the valorization of their function and the staging of their war of position against the State will not prevent the emergence of new issues. “Always passionate about risk prevention”, David Lisnard announces the restitution of the conclusions of the mission he entrusted on this subject to two members of the AMF : Eric Ménassi, mayor (various left) of Trèbes (Aude), and Sébastien Leroy, Les Républicains mayor of Mandelieu-La-Napoule (Alpes-Maritimes).
Beyond citizen awareness, the president of the AMF notes the emergence of a prevention economy: “Mayors are developing the cofferdam technique. They will facilitate the orbiting of companies with solutions”rejoices David Lisnard. The mission, which began a tour of France to raise awareness among mayors, highlights the links between several types of climate risks: “The eastern Pyrenees show that the risk of drought heralds the risk of flooding,” analyzes the president of the AMF.
Reconciliation through water
The allusion to water refers to the topicality of another eternal question, present in the minds of the mayors of France on the way to their congress: source of dispersion of project management according to the companies in the sector, Does municipal management offer a model adapted to climate and financial issues?
By calling into question the mandatory intermunicipal jurisdiction which was to apply from January 1, 2026, Michel Barnier decided in the direction desired by the AMF : “The right scale, that of the watershed, does not correspond to any administrative stratum. Let’s practice bottom-up subsidiarity,” invites David Lisnard. At least one subject on which the government and the powerful association of elected officials agree.
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