“If we are on the register of words and form, I am ready to agree that the Prime Minister has demonstrated a certain skill. But if we are on the register of truth, reality, concreteness, I am very sorry to consider that there is not the beginning of a serious or credible solution”estimated Thursday November 21 on franceinfo the PS mayor of Nantes Johanna Rolland, president of Nantes Métropole and president of France Urbaines, while Michel Barnier spoke at the Congress of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF).
“It is not normal or fair to show municipalities and local authorities as if they were responsible for the deficit: that is not true”affirmed the Prime Minister in front of the mayors of France, while local elected officials are up in arms against the draft budget accused of threatening investment and public services. They denounce the budget cuts planned in the 2025 finance bill.
Johanna Rolland salute “the fact that we are finally correcting this fable, these lies that have been uttered” on the management of local authorities. She emphasizes that in “30 years, the State debt increased from 34% to 90% of GDP, while that of local authorities was stable”. She wants the Prime Minister “will also be able to make himself heard by his ministers”. She recalls that Guillaume Kasbarian, the Minister of the Civil Service, “greeted Elon Musk on the X network, and said that it is there that he goes to seek his inspiration”. “You will understand that the defenders of public service are, to put it mildly, absolutely not reassured either.” The elected socialist deplores the fact “that there is no clarity in the government line, that things are heading in the wrong direction. And it is the French who will pay the price”.
“They burned the cash, they are asking us to pay the bill.”
Johanna Roland, mayor of Nantesat franceinfo
Johanna Rolland understands “alert” the French on “the risk of recession” of the country. “In France, 70% of public investment is carried out by local authorities. That’s a somewhat well-known figure”explains the president of France Urbaines. “But there is one which is less, which is that the local authorities which are targeted, the 450 which are targeted, I was even going to say stigmatized by the government, they represent 70% of the 70%”.
According to the elected official, “it is concretely the engine of the country, the engine of France which is being attacked”. It warns of the consequences of the requested restrictions. “Behind, there are the daily public services, it is the Atsem who welcome your children to school, it is the green spaces teams who today, with the weather in addition, are at work everywhere in France, who maintain your green spaces”. She further denounces the attacks on “the staff” nurseries or even “municipal police officers who contribute to everyday security”. “Today, there is a ‘mini, mini, mini’ rebate proposed by the Prime Minister. Clearly, it’s not serious”.
