“Government Budget 2025: defending our cities means defending the French”

TRIBUNE – In twenty years, France has seen its debt increase from 1082 billion euros at the start of 2004 to more than 3228 billion euros. To rebalance public accounts, the new government places “a sword of Damocles” on local authorities by planning to reduce their budget by more than 5 billion euros.

For their part, cities manage their finances effectively. As proof, from 1993 to 2023, their debt increased from 9.2% of GDP to 8.9%. And during these 30 years, that of the State went from 33.7% to 90% of GDP. With the golden rule of local public finances, communities have the obligation to vote for a balanced budget. Should good managers be penalized?

Through our investment and operating expenses, we contribute to an entire territorial economy. Nearly a quarter of public investments come from the budgets of towns and cities. These expenses support an entire ecosystem of economic actors ranging from construction and public works companies to local agriculture.

Thus, this choice of financial austerity would lead to serious recessions in our local economies which would in turn have lasting repercussions on the French economy.

Mayors mobilize in every crisis

Faced with the recent crises that our country has gone through – Covid-19, energy, inflation, social movements, urban violence – mayors have been able to mobilize each time to meet the needs of French people. The responsiveness of local authority agents has been essential to guaranteeing the social cohesion of our country. The drastic reduction in spending is synonymous with the deterioration of everyday public services: nurseries, schools, retirement homes, cultural institutions, support services for the elderly, municipal police, associations, etc. would be put in danger.

Investments to adapt our territories to global warming would also be delayed even though the urgency is clear. Such a decision would worsen social inequalities and would mainly affect the most vulnerable.

“The drastic reduction in spending is synonymous with the degradation of everyday public services. » Grégory Doucet, mayor of Lyon

The government must abandon this deadly project and consider local communities as true partners. Not only are we not the cause of the deficit but we are an extraordinary source of solutions to deal with the climate emergency and social inequalities.

Mayors as well as local elected officials, we carry a vision of France where every euro spent serves the general interest, where each political decision is taken taking into account local realities and this, the antipodes of this iniquitous project which will cause us to lose on all tables: economic, social, ecological and democratic. As mayor of Lyon, I refuse to see our city, like so many others, transformed into an adjustment variable.

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