the department of Ain renounces completely eliminating its annual subsidy

The Maison d'Izieu welcomes 36,000 visitors each year to tell the story of the fate of the 44 Jewish children rounded up by the Lyon Gestapo on April 6, 1944, then deported to Auschwitz.

The Ain departmental council has decided not to completely eliminate its annual subsidy dedicated to the Izieu memorial museum, the president of the community, Jean Deguerry, indicated on Sunday, December 1, on franceinfo. “We have examined in detail the details provided on the use of this departmental subsidy and we considered that it was essential to maintain all or part of this subsidy,” he clarified.

The Ain department intended to cancel its annual subsidy of 50,000 euros, justifying this decision by the budgetary restrictions weighing on communities, caused by the reduction in allocation imposed by the government. The general director of department services, François Genest, indicated that the community had to make 20% savings on its budget, or 23 million euros in operating savings and 30 million euros in investment. “We estimate that Maison d’Izieu, which has 3 million euros of equity, can get by this year without our subsidy,” added François Genest. Ultimately, the departmental council therefore reversed this decision.

“We wanted to alert all associations, whatever they may be, and the Maison d’Izieu is one of them, to tell them that 2025 would be a difficult year”specifies Jean Deguerry. “And when we saw that certain associations had rather comfortable budgets, we offered them a blank year. This is the case with Maison d’Izieu. But after explaining what the department’s subsidy was for, particularly on the costs of personnel who are there to visit this house, we have reviewed our position since each year, we ourselves (the department), we send more than 3,000 middle school students to visit this house so that the duty of memory persists. “

The Maison d'Izieu welcomes 36,000 visitors each year to tell the story of the fate of the 44 Jewish children rounded up by the Lyon Gestapo on April 6, 1944, then deported to Auschwitz. More than 15,000 students from middle schools, high schools or schools in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, from across France and from abroad come each year.