Praised by parliamentarians, Jean Castex is renewed as president of RATP

Valid. Collateral victim of the dissolution of the National Assembly on June 9, Jean Castex had to take over his own interim role at the head of the RATP. While the renewal of his mandate had been proposed by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, he could not be endorsed by the sustainable development committees of the two parliamentary chambers. It’s done. Heard at the National Assembly on Wednesday October 9, a week after the Senate, he obtained 69 votes for, 6 against and 10 blank ballots for the two committees. Better than in 2022. The success of the Olympic Games and his presence in the metro with his agents had largely prepared the ground in his favor. His reservations on opening up to competition and his speech on security, in response to questions from parliamentarians, earned him support ranging from La France insoumise (LFI) to the National Rally.

The CEO took advantage of his two hearings to convey a few messages. Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the organizing authority for Ile-de-France transport, must in fact announce on November 12 the names of the operators having won the first three batches of bus lines in Paris and the inner suburbs open to competition. The agents of the public establishment RATP must then be transferred to the winner, either a subsidiary of RATP, or Transdev (subsidiary of Caisses des Dépôts) or Keolis (subsidiary of SNCF), or to IDFM. “Urban transport is a profession where there are few margins. It is therefore a competition between public actors but it is real”explained the CEO.

However, he did not hide his reservations about this process, once again asking for the creation of a “independent observatory” which demonstrates the benefits of competition for the user. Because the first assessment of the opening of the market for lines in the greater Paris suburbs, the Optile network, is disappointing. To win the markets, the candidates made offers that were too tight. This results in losses, particularly in the RATP accounts. “We have opened discussions with the organizing authority to resolve the imbalances”explained Jean Castex, hoping that they will be completed before the end of the year.

For Vincent Gautheron, CGT elected official, the CEO even said, in discussions with trade union organizations or regional elected officials, that he was in favor of a “moratorium” on opening up to competition. However, he did not go that far in front of the national representation. Except for the metro, in response to the question of an LFI deputy, fearing “the shattering of a very tight mesh”. “It’s already very complicated to run the network. Let’s not add more »he recommends. However, the opening of the metro to competition is not planned until 2039.

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