Faced with the 2025 finance bill, the movement initiated by ten municipalities in the Hautes Cévennes now extends to forty-six Gard town halls, in response to the call from the Association of Rural Mayors of Gard.
In our columns, we had already relayed the initiative of ten town halls in Hautes Cévennes, which had planned to symbolically close their doors from November 19 to 21 to denounce the 2025 finance bill. Supported by the Association of Rural Mayors of Gard (AMR 30), the mobilization aimed to warn of the drastic budget cuts which threaten local public services and the functioning of small municipalities.
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From now on, this movement is taking on a significant scale, with forty-six municipalities participating in the closure action or restricting their reception to the public. Among them, Genolhac, Chamborigaud, Barjac, Cendras, Roquemaure, and even Saint-Julien-les-Rosiers. Some, like Méjannes-lès-Alès, Mons and Aigalier, have opted for a one-off closure, while others, like Le Chambon, Bonnevaux or Mandagout, are mobilizing over several days.
A movement that is growing
The president of AMR 30, Sylvain André, welcomes this massive mobilization, reflecting a “generalized fed up” in the face of measures judged “destructive”. He recalls the main points of tension: the reduction of 5 billion euros in grants to local authorities, the reduction in the VAT compensation fund, and the increase in contributions from public employers. This discontent comes as the government also plans to reduce the green fund, essential for financing ecological transition projects in the territories, by 1.5 billion euros.
Initially concentrated in the Hautes Cévennes, the movement quickly spread to other rural and peri-urban areas. “It’s not a symbol, it shows to what extent our municipalities, already bloodless, are in danger”confides a participating mayor by telephone. While the 106th edition of the Congress of Mayors and Intermunicipal Presidents of France has been held in Paris since Tuesday, AMR 30 hopes that this strong mobilization will send a strong signal to the government and encourage adjustments to the bill. finances, before it is too late for rural areas.
