Paris-Cité University has just announced the construction of a new university hospital campus in Saint-Ouen. This will be entrusted to the Eiffage company, through a public-private partnership (PPP). PPPs, supposed to make it possible to “modernize” infrastructure without increasing public debt, consist of delegating the financing, construction, and sometimes management of public infrastructure to private companies. Very often, these projects exceed the set budgets and require reimbursements and provision of services at very high prices that the State is forced to buy back. PPPs therefore ensure a safe and profitable investment for private companies, while the public sector takes the risk of the staggering costs generated by these investments. The partnership established between Paris-Cité and Eiffage is therefore a way for employers to make profits at the expense of public services.
Eiffage, which today positions itself as one of the main players in many large public projects, is used to signing contracts worth several hundred million euros. With a turnover of more than 22 billion euros in 2023, achieved on the backs of its workers and at the cost of the massive destruction of territories, the group is at the origin of projects such as the Grand Paris Express, highway projects or even the construction of private prisons. Eiffage often controls its projects from start to finish (design, construction, financing, maintenance, management), thus consolidating its control over the public service in these different sectors.
The case of the Sud-Francilien Hospital in 2014 is an example of the failure of PPPs in public health, which will undoubtedly be repeated soon with this new project. Under the management of Eiffage, the hospital was delivered with poor workmanship, faulty equipment and a rigid organization. The company even controlled essential services such as catering, maintenance and security at very high prices, imposing unsustainable costs on the hospital. In 2014, faced with this situation, the State had to buy back the contract for 80 million euros, a price much higher than that originally planned. Result: Eiffage recovered its profits, but it was users – particularly patients and caregivers – who paid the high price. The working conditions of caregivers have deteriorated, the quality of care has collapsed and patients have seen their reception conditions deteriorate.
UPC's choice to ally itself with Eiffage is not an isolated decision, but the result of government policies carried out for years to destroy the public service. The state has increased budget cuts to universities and hospitals, pushing these institutions into the private sector to compensate for the lack of funding. In 2007, the LRU law adopted under Sarkozy marked a turning point by liberalizing the university sector, requiring universities to seek private funding. This policy of financial autonomy has gradually forced establishments to call on giants like Eiffage for financing, placing public education at the service of multinationals. It is in this context that UPC has notably engaged in private partnerships with L'Oréal and other companies and multinationals, heavily influencing the decisions taken within the University councils.
Faced with these neoliberal offensives, it is imperative to organize. Students, teachers, and caregivers must mobilize to defend public management of education and health. It is time to demand public funding to guarantee quality infrastructure, accessible to all, without it being dictated by the profitability logic of companies like Eiffage.
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