No wish ceremony in Hauts-de-Seine, out of “responsibility”

There are no small savings… The Hauts-de-Seine department, chaired by Georges Siffredi (Les Républicains), announced this Monday its decision to give up its traditional greeting ceremony in 2025, « in an approach of responsibility and control of public spending »because of the « constrained budgetary context which affects all departments ».

As part of his finance bill for 2025, Michel Barnier had in fact initially asked local authorities to participate in the effort to restore public accounts, to the tune of 5 billion euros. A pill that had difficulty passing. In 2023, the financial situation of the departments has deteriorated significantly, due to a decline in revenue and a greater increase in operating expenses.

Before the decision of Hauts-de-Seine, the Île-de-France region had also announced the cancellation of its greeting ceremony in 2025. Since local authorities know that they will have to tighten their belts, others elected officials do not hesitate to openly display their indignation, like the mayor of Bordeaux on the walls of the town hall. The mayor of Verdun even put his resignation in the balance, calling on other local elected officials to do the same.