According to our information, a huge misunderstanding has caused a suspension of payments to the numerous printing companies which produce, for the town hall, the magazine “À Paris”, its equivalents in the districts, the posters, leaflets, but also the pay slips of the 55,000 municipal agents. Everything ended up getting back to normal, after a big scare. Explanations.
They went so far as to threaten not to deliver “À Paris”, the City magazine, if they were not duly paid. The many printers who work for the town hall said to themselves that, definitely, the financial situation was serious, the coffers completely empty, the municipality caught red-handed for non-payment, and therefore on the verge of bankruptcy. According to our information, their invoices had not been paid since mid-September, despite their complaints and threats.
The quarterly municipal magazine “À Paris” – which is due to become bimonthly in January – is distributed free of charge in mailboxes, district town halls or libraries; the special Olympic and Paralympic Games issue this summer had a print run of 800,000 copies! In addition to this publication, the Parisian community prints the arrondissement gazettes (“À Paris Centre”, “Cinf Magazine”, “Treize””, “Paris Quinze Mag”, “M18”…). As well as, each month, a considerable quantity of posters for street furniture, flyers, leaflets (for nurseries, nursing homes, all municipal services, etc.). Without forgetting, a sensitive subject, the pay slips of some 55,000 agents. All these prints were suspended for a month.
An overzealous civil servant
The situation finally resolved in mid-October. What happened? A newly arrived, zealous and meticulous official from the Regional Directorate of Public Finances of Île-de-France and Paris (DRFiP 75), a department of the regional prefecture, looked into the public procurement process of the City with the printing works, via a single service company responsible for centralizing purchases. This atypical mechanism did not seem regulatory to him, or even downright illegal. Hence the one-month blockage.
In 2019, Paris town hall opted for this system, which is not very common in local authorities, called “print management”. The City has stopped paying the printing companies directly – it is never even in contact with them now – but the subcontracting company, Chaumeil, which acts as prime contractor for the management of the printed materials. This “print manager” places the orders himself and is responsible for honoring the invoices. The City sees this as a way to optimize its printing purchases, in order to save public money.
“The accountant of the DRFiP 75 did not know this system of “innovative markets”, he wanted to consult all the quotes, all the invoices, we sigh at the Town Hall. We took two weeks to explain to him how it works, and to resolve his doubts, his concerns, his suspicions. » After verification, everything finally returned to normal, without scandal or publicity. More fear than harm, therefore. Problem: this “floating period”, during which payments were suspended, caused cash flow problems for the printers concerned. They are not ready to forget this mishap.
