Who says January says period of traditional greeting ceremonies, an exercise that has become classic for elected officials every January. But this year, due to the unprecedented and complicated budgetary context, particularly for local authorities which the State has asked to make drastic savings to reduce its public debt, many communities have decided not to organize a greeting ceremony in face-to-face.
While the departmental council of Yvelines had already, since the beginning of December, made it known that it was renouncing its wishes which it had been organizing jointly since 2016 with its counterpart in Hauts-de-Seine, in the face of the financial difficulties affecting the Departments (read notably our file p.2), we can also note, or rather cross off the calendars for this month of January 2025, the greeting ceremony of the SQY agglomeration. Initially, however, the latter intended to maintain the meeting. “We are reducing the cocktail, there will be no champagne, no oysters, no foie gras. But we maintain because it is an important moment of meetings and exchanges for our entrepreneurs,” declared its president, Jean-Michel Fourgous (LR), to our colleagues from Le Parisien on December 10, while the article even mentioned the date of January 23 for the traditional ceremony at the National Vélodrome.
In the end, it won't happen. The announcement was made in a December 20 press release from the Agglomeration. “Due to the particularly difficult economic context and budgetary imperatives, the agglomeration of SQY announces the cancellation of its traditional greeting ceremony”, we can read in particular. “While we would have preferred to maintain this tradition of meeting and exchange, the economic situation requires us to be particularly vigilant in the use of public funds. This year we prefer to focus our efforts on concrete and priority actions for our territory and its inhabitants,” explains Jean-Michel Fourgous in comments reported in the press release.
While the 2024 wishes had notably celebrated with great fanfare the arrival of the Olympic Games on the territory, those of 2025 will therefore not be able to be held, even in a less grandiose form. “This decision is part of a responsible management effort, in order to ensure the maintenance of priorities, namely the attractiveness of our Agglomeration and its economic influence, as well as the sustainability of structuring projects in the territory for the population and development. local, the press release continues. The Agglomeration […] will continue to focus its efforts on areas such as land use planning, employment, economic attractiveness, with renewed support for the 12 municipalities of SQY. »
As for the municipalities, many of them have already not held a greeting ceremony in recent years. The economic situation has not helped reverse this trend. Plaisir, which has not organized in-person greetings since 2019, chose the format of a mini video clip to wish a happy new year. Maurepas has also not organized greetings to the population since 2019, and has since opted for greetings in the form of neighborhood meetings.
The municipalities which were accustomed to greeting ceremonies in recent years, however, decided to maintain them despite the budgetary context. And like every year, it was Magny-les-Hameaux which opened the ball, with a ceremony which was organized on Monday January 6 at the Maison de l'environnement.
La Verrière will follow, who has planned her vows on January 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Scarabée. “La Verrière is wishes that cost very little,” assured the LR mayor, Nicolas Dainville, to the press on December 4. We don't rent the room, it's a room that belongs to us […] Everything about sound is in-house, we have a manager who is one of our agents, everything is done in-house in terms of decor. So it's a very inexpensive event, and which for the residents is extremely important, because it's a moment where we get together, there's something very simple and friendly. […] All the films are made in-house, the buffet is perhaps around 4,000 euros. » He thus wishes to “bring a little conviviality, joy and unity” into national and international news where “there is so much bad news”.
The next day, January 11, will be particularly rich in wishes with two scheduled at SQY: Guyancourt at 3 p.m. at the Aviation gymnasium, and Villepreux at 4 p.m. at the Mimoun gymnasium. “For three years, the City has reevaluated its approach to this ceremony. Thus, it opted for a more family-friendly ceremony format, taking place in the afternoon and in more energy-efficient equipment,” underlines the Guyancourt municipality to justify maintaining the event. Among the other towns which have also decided not to cancel face-to-face wishes, we can cite Montigny-le-Bretonneux, which is organizing its own on January 16, from 7 p.m. at the Manet farm. In Coignières, the wishes are also maintained. They will take place on January 24, from 7 p.m., at the Saint-Exupéry salons.
“The mayor (Didier Fischer, DVG, Editor’s note), the elected officials of Coignières, the elected officials of the Municipal Council for Children and Young People and several personalities, are participating in this institutional time. Guests will be able to chat over a tasty brunch and share the traditional galette des rois. This convivial moment will allow us to look back on the past year while celebrating the one that is just beginning,” specifies a press release from the City.
CREDIT PHOTO : ARCHIVES
