The Association of Rural Mayors of Gard strongly opposes the 2025 finance bill, which it considers to be a threat to small municipalities. Supporting a collective of ten town halls which will symbolically close their doors from November 19 to 21, AMR 30 is calling for this mobilization to be extended as a sign of protest.
While the 2025 finance bill (PLF) continues its legislative journey, the Association of Rural Mayors of Gard (AMR 30) and its president, Sylvain André, expressed their “anger” at a project that they estimate “destructive to our local public services”. In a press release, AMR 30 affirms that “the bludgeoning of our communities which seems to serve as a general direction is unacceptable”emphasizing that the municipalities, already subject to “very limited room for maneuver”struggle to finance the needs of their inhabitants and their territories.
From left to right: Jérôme Bonet, prefect of Gard, Sylvain André, president of AMR30 and Michel Fournier, resident of the Association of Rural Mayors of France. • Louis Valat
The association denounces in particular the cutting of “5 billion euros in grants to local authorities in 2025” planned by the government, a reduction which would hit small towns hard. Among the other measures considered problematic, AMR 30 mentions “the new reduction in the VAT compensation fund from 16.4% to 14.85% on January 1, 2025” et “the increase in contributions from public employers to the national pension fund for local authority employees (CNRACL)”. In addition, the reduction of « fund trans […] of 1.5 billion euros » appears as a brake while“it is urgent to invest in the ecological transition”.
Town halls closed for three days, reception restricted to emergencies
To demonstrate their opposition, ten municipalities in Hautes Cévennes took the initiative to close their town halls from November 19 to 21, during the 106th fair of mayors and local authorities. AMR 30 expresses its support for this action, calling “all its member municipalities to close their town halls from November 19 to 21, 2024”. She specifies that, during this period, “reception of the public will therefore not be guaranteed (except in cases of extreme emergencies)”. Finally, in his press release, the president of the association warns of the “feeling of discouragement” growing among mayors, with an average of “40 resignations per month”. According to AMR 30, this phenomenon constitutes “a real danger for local democracy and the cohesion of the Republic”while the municipal elections are scheduled in less than 18 months.
