Departments gathered in Angers and “united” against budget cuts

The Assises des Départements de France are organized in Angers for three days, until this Friday. The anger of the communities should be heard, because it is great against the government. All are having difficulty completing their 2025 budget. The State has announced a cut of several billion euros, in the finance bill, an effort of 2.2 billion in savings is requested from the departmental councils .

“Unrealistic, and much too heavy”estimates Florence Dabin, president of the Department of Maine-et-Loire and vice-president of the association “Departments of France“.

“The 103 departments offset 17 billion euros in expenses, which should be borne by the State.”

“Equally, the departments are ready to participate in the financial recovery effort of our country. However, concretely, the departments do how: we choose between our elders and our children to protect. We choose the college students or the firefighters, we chooses road maintenance or college maintenance We are facing a serious situation which risks continuing to fracture our country… I would still like to point out that the State is not obliged to vote for a balanced budget and the 103 departments annually compensate 17 billion euros in expenses which should be assumed by the State.”

Credit : Yann Launay

The departments point out the scissors effect of which they have been victims for several years: their revenues, which come in particular from real estate transactions (transfer taxes), are decreasing, while expenses continue to increase. Expenditures which have nothing to do with poor management, but which are linked to the needs of the population, assures Florence Dabin.

The Departments will ask the government to review its copy

There is “an impressive increase in spending in the areas of solidarity, childhood, disability or our elders. This is also what makes the strength and values ​​of our country. We must take care of our elders, and everything the world does not have the same chances in life… We have also done so much to report child victims of pain, that we report more, we must therefore provide more support and that has a cost.”

The Departments intend to ask the government to review its copy. For Florence Dabin, “the departments could receive a larger share, within the framework of transfer taxes. The State could also take back part of the support aid in the field of solidarity. The interest is to find “a balance and a shared assumption of responsibilities… It is together that we must succeed in saving our country.”

Credit : Yann Launay

Maël de Calan, the president of the Department of Finistère, is not against any budgetary effort, but he has serious reservations. “It is not local authorities which are responsible for France's deficit. Those who contributed to widening the deficit are the Parisian ministries which created new rights and new positions without ever seeking to finance them.

The departments have already done a lot

Then, the departments have already made tens of millions of euros in savings over the past three years… to cope with the drop in revenue and the increase in spending decided in Paris. We did it without complaining. We did it to contribute to the overall effort but today, we have reached a point beyond which we can no longer go.” For Maël de Calan, this excessive drain on the Departments would have completely counterproductive consequences, and directly experienced by the population. This means “less investment in roads, in colleges, less subsidies for municipal projects. And we will have to choose in our obligatory spending what could be catastrophic.”

Credit : Yann Launay

Michel Barnier expected in Angers on Friday

Maël de Calan and the other presidents of Departments intend to unite their voices to obtain a reduction, or even an exemption from this budgetary effort while the Departments can only suffer the increase in certain budgetary items, “linked to the aging of the population or to child protection… The number of children in care has, for example, been increasing sharply over the past fifteen years.”

The association Departments of France estimates that 80% of departments would be in great difficulty, almost bankrupt, from next year, if the government cuts their budget in the proportions announced.

The Conference of the Departments of France starts this Wednesday, in Angers, for three days. Prime Minister Michel Barnier is expected to go there late Friday morning.