under fire from criticism, Michel Barnier clears the anger of the departments by presenting five measures

On autonomy and disability, an envelope of 200 million euros will be released for 2025, the Prime Minister explained in particular on Friday.

Mine clearance operation for Michel Barnier. Faced with the growing anger of departmental elected officials, worried about no longer being able to carry out their social missions due to lack of money in the coffers, the Prime Minister promised, during the Congress of the Departments of France in Angers (Maine-et-Loire), Friday November 15, a reduction “significant” of the savings effort planned in the 2025 budget. However, he did not provide figures on the drop in this contribution, which “will depend on the discussion in the Senate”specified Matignon.

The initial text of the 2025 budget plans to involve the departments in the same way as other communities to straighten out the public accounts. However, according to the Départements de France association, they are the stratum of communities “most impacted”with a contribution of 44% of the 5 billion euros effort requested from local elected officials. These savings are part of the budgetary effort of 60 billion euros in the draft budget.

To respond to the emergency, Michel Barnier presented five initial measures. In addition to reducing the contribution to the reserve fund, he agreed to the request for an increase of 0.5 points for three years in the ceiling on transfer taxes for valuable consideration, levied on real estate transactions, which should bring in one billion euros. He also promised to return “the least” on the retroactive nature of the reduction in the rate of the Compensation Fund for value added tax, investment aid.

On autonomy and disability, an envelope of 200 million euros will be released for 2025. Finally, the increase in contributions to the National Retirement Fund for local authority employees will be spread over four years instead of three. Michel Barnier also wanted to reassure the departments, in the midst of existential questioning about their future, while they were still threatened with disappearance a year ago in the name of the simplification of the territorial millefeuille.

At the start of 2025, a “steering body shared between the State and the departments” will be responsible in particular for considering the establishment of a “single social allowance”. “The departments are and will remain the actors of human and territorial solidarity policies”promised the Prime Minister. He further pleaded for a “multi-year contractualization which will anticipate and limit the evolution of departmental expenses” and also said he was open to a return to the accumulation of mandates.