In total, 398 million euros (including sanitation) will be invested through borrowing and without visibility on the finance and social security laws which have yet to be voted on by Parliament.
At the end of the departmental council vote on the budget, on December 19, 2024, the elected representatives of the majority took a pose, with XL-sized invoices to send to Emmanuel Macron. Or 434 million euros in claims for grants “undercompensated“.
Read: Budget 2025: Seine-Saint-Denis sends its invoice to the Élysée
Despite the national budget uncertainty, the department plans to invest 398 million euros in 2025, including 317 million euros for the main budget. In terms of distribution of the main lines of investment expenditure: 207 million euros were earmarked for development and the environment, 138 million euros for education (mainly for college buildings), 35 million euros for sport and 24 million for solidarity.
Tram lines, cycle paths, retention basins
Nearly 40% of investment spending aims to address the ecological emergency, while, for the third year, the department has completed its climate budget based on the methodology of the Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE4). The latter thus classified 138 million euros of equipment expenditure as “favorable” or “very favorable” to the mitigation of greenhouse gases.
With 110 million euros of investment planned for 2025, transport comes first. The main achievement in this area is the second phase of work on the T1 tram line to Val-de-Fontenay which is due to start this year. As project owner, the department will also invest 3 million euros for the continuation of studies for the Tzen 3 tram line project, the commissioning of which between Porte de Pantin and Les Pavillons-sous-Bois is expected. in 2030. In La Courneuve, some 4.2 million euros will be devoted to developing the Six Routes crossroads to prepare for the arrival of line 16 (then 17) of the Grand Paris Express. More than 8 million euros for the cycling plan.
A new park above the Maurice Audin basin
In terms of sanitation (which is the subject of a specific budget), the envelope amounts to 80 million euros, mainly to continue the retention basin projects to prevent flooding. After the delivery of the Ru Saint-Baudile basin in Gagny and that of the Fontaine des Hanots in Montreuil for the JOP, the community must continue work on the Maurice Audin basin in Clichy-sous-Bois (9 million euros in 2025) with a view to completing them in 2026. In addition to its rehabilitation, it will be buried to make way for a 10,000 square meter park. 22.5 million euros will also be devoted to the development of the sanitation network, including 6 million for the new wastewater collector on rue Joffre in Épinay-sur-Seine.
Other operations aim to green the area, such as the creation of a new entrance to the Parc de la Bergère on the prefecture side (2.7 million euros) in Bobigny and the development of four new oasis courtyards.
A new one delivered to La Courneuve in 2025
Renovation of buildings, transformation of energy sieves, extensions… Emergencies remain important regarding the renovation of colleges. As part of the 100 million spent annually on this issue, four projects must be delivered in 2025: the 4th college in La Courneuve, the extension of the International college in Noisy-le-Grand and the partial renovation of the Rousseau college in Pré-Saint -Gervais. Six others will start: the 4th college of Saint-Ouen (34.8 million euros), the reconstruction of the Balzac college in Neuilly-sur-Marne (32.6 million euros over four years), renovation of the college Albert Camus in Rosny-sous-Bois (23.2 million), the major renovation of the Henri Sellier college in Bondy (12.2 million euros) and the extension of the Henri IV college in Vaujours.
-To these operations are added 12 million euros for the overall public performance contract for the overall energy renovation of five colleges: Jean Zay in Bondy, Eugène Carrière in Gournay-sur-Marne, Langevin-Wallon in Rosny-sous-Bois , Pablo Neruda in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine and René Descartes in Blanc-Mesnil. And 18 million euros for modernization and major repairs (TMGR).
On the sports side, 2.3 million euros which must be invested this year in the rehabilitation or extension of departmental swimming pools in Aubervilliers, Sevran, Montreuil, Tremblay-en-France, Neuilly Plaisance and Drancy.
“You burned the cash register“
In total, the budget of Seine-Saint-Denis reaches 2.1 billion euros in 2025, “one of the largest budgets of local authorities in this country“, according to Daniel Guiraud. Beyond the investment, the department is counting on a 10% reduction in its operating expenses (excluding so-called incompressible expenses such as participation in Île-de-France Mobilités) to the tune of 653 million euros thanks in particular to the non-renewal of specific expenditure linked to JOPs. An estimate which takes into account the increase in expenditure for payments of the disability compensation benefit (PCH) and the personalized autonomy allowance (APA). Personnel costs are up 1.5% (392 million euros).
Read: Seine-Saint-Denis wants to continue investing even if it means increasing its debt, the opposition is worried
To maintain its level of investment, the department will borrow 209 million, which increases the outstanding debt by 90 million euros (1.6 billion euros in 2024). A decision motivated by the drop in tax revenue, which causes gross savings (that is to say, self-financing capacity) to fall from 170 to 79.5 million euros. “We assume responsibility for resorting to borrowing. We prefer to have a relative debt with the banks rather than with our children with equipment that would fall into disrepair.“, defended Stéphane Troussel, the president (PS) of the departmental council.
For several months, the question of debt has agitated the political debate in the community. “I would like to tell the apocalypse preachers, to my right, who predict budgetary Armageddons, to simply take a look at our neighbors“, Stéphane Troussel got carried away. In his sights, departments which he considers to benefit from better compensation for their social expenditure, but whose outstanding debt would grow more than that of Seine-Saint-Denis, such as Val-de-Marne. “Better, Hauts-de-Seine which registered a loan of 470 million euros with the BP [budget primitf] 2024 and which renew this same amount to BP 2025, i.e. 1 billion over two years when we are going to make more than 90 million over five years. I doubt that the opposition here will blame their little comrades from the same political side for burning the coffers“, he castigated.
For his part, Philippe Dallier, the leader of the LR and various right-wing parties in Seine-Saint-Denis, once again castigated the financial management of the community. “In three years, since 2022 and the resumption of RSA progression [revenu de solidarité active] by the State, you made the 50 million euro oxygen balloon melt like snow in the sun. You burned the fund. And we find ourselves today, at the worst time, in a difficult situation“, he lamented. Regretting the absence of a real debate on the department's budgetary priorities and requesting a review of expenditure in the Finance Committee, Philippe Dallier calculates the true cost of the savings requested by the government at 152 million euros if they were maintained for the five years to come. “Who can believe that the necessary adjustment of public accounts will have no impact on our community's budget?“, he was surprised.
