“we will have to make trade-offs in the budget”

Patrick Weiten, president of the Moselle departmental council, returned to the announcements during the ADF congress.

From November 13 to 15, 2024, the Departments of France met in Congress in Angers. On the agenda in particular: how to find the 5 billion euros that the government is asking from communities to help reduce the public debt. A budgetary disaster for 80 departments which feared not being able to complete the budget. A joint act, signed unanimously by the 103 members, was submitted to the Prime Minister to express this concern.

“We no longer have any tax leverage”

But Michel Barnier unveiled a series of measures which were applauded by the assembly chaired by the UDI president of Côte-d'Or, François Sauvadet. Patrick Weiten, vice-president of the ADF, also spoke of the need for the State to find money while understanding the specificities of the departments. “We no longer have any tax lever and at the same time solidarity costs (elderly people, disability, child protection, increase in RSA beneficiaries) have increased, costs which represent 60% of the budget,” recalls Patrick Weiten.

More power to the departments of France

“It was the last chance congress,” he explains. “But he understood that it was a Bercy budget, a political budget” and revised his copy for parliamentarians. The contribution was ultimately reduced almost in half, “good news”. The president of the departmental council also pleaded for a federal state, and welcomes the desire to make prefects more accountable: “we need more decentralization to be close to the problems of citizens, and at the same time a strong prefect who represents the State” . In the meantime, the budget for Moselle is being reworked and will be voted on in March instead of January to make trade-offs “which will not be easy to make”.