© HENRIQUE CAMPOS/Hans Lucas/Hans Lucas via AFP
– The mayors met at the Congress of Mayors.
A black scarf covering the traditional tricolor ribbon. Tuesday, November 19, at the opening of the 106th Congress of Mayors, the local elected officials gathered to express their fed up with the savings requested by the government. In Talence, 2 million euros in savings are requested by the 2026 executive, these are 2.5 million euros that the mayor, Emmanuel Sallaberry (without label), will have to release from the budget. The amount increases to 3 million in 2027, i.e. “around 10 million euros in three years”.
“This is the equivalent of the remuneration of 50 full-time civil servants”adds the co-chair of the finance committee of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF). A sum “huge” for the mayor of the town of 45,000 inhabitants. The city, like 450 other local authorities, is being asked to contribute by the government in order to free up, in total, 5 billion euros in savings in budget 2025currently under review in the Senate.
Local authorities called upon to tighten their belts: which cities and regions will suffer?
What municipal operating expenses should be reduced?
The municipalities believe that this amount is in reality much higher than the figures put forward by the government. Communities whose operating expenses exceed 40 million euros will have to put “in reserve” part of their money for “curb local spending” in order to save 3 billion euros. Added to this is the VAT freeze. André Laignel (Socialist Party), vice-president of the AMF, estimated that the total impact was not 5 billion euros but 9.7 billion euros, in particular because of the reduction in the fund green as well as inflation on grants paid by the State to local authorities.
To meet the government's requirements, the local authorities concerned have no other choice but to think about the sectors where the tap will have to be turned off. First solution: reduce expenses. “What are we reducing? Home help for seniors? The municipal police? Early childhood or help for associations? asks the mayor of Talence for whom the choice is “impossible”. “The consequences for residents are simple, it’s less service for them”says the chosen one. “The municipality helps seniors in particular to stay at home. This means fewer elderly people in nursing homes and therefore money saved by the government.reasons Emmanuel Sallaberry. “Unfortunately those who can toast first are the associations because they are the ones who need town halls the most”adds the elected official.
The municipalities concerned can also opt for the “recruitment freeze” and the non-renewal of retirements. “A quarter of the municipal workforce is in education. We are not going to eliminate the school canteen!”the mayor of Talence is indignant. Another possibility: the postponement of investments. Energy renovation work, road development, construction of new buildings, etc. “We are looking to see if we can cancel or postpone some investments”confides the chosen one, “but behind them are jobs, particularly in construction”he adds. The impact could be all the more significant as local authorities represent 58% of public investments in France according to the General Inspectorate of Finance (September 2024). And since it is only the largest municipalities which are affected by the budgetary efforts “it’s going to hit even harder”, analyzes Emmanuel Sallaberry.
Mayors “sound the alarm” in the face of government demands
Talence town hall wants to avoid increasing taxes at all costs. “We would need an increase of 15% to compensate for what we are being asked to do” he assesses. This lever is “the last solution” for the mayor. “We would not have so many difficulties if the State had not eliminated the branch on which it relied.” The government abolished the housing tax in 2023. Its return would allow the State to make 20 billion euros in savings according to Jean-François Copé (Les Républicains), mayor of Meaux, who spoke in October on franceinfo.
Last possibility: borrow money. Emmanuel Sallaberry points out the risk of “rise in interest rates”. “If all municipalities go to the credit market, the price of interest rates will increase” he alerts. “We all made the decision to postpone the budget for three months, it’s distressing”indicates the mayor of Talence who says he is waiting for a speech from the Prime Minister, Michel Barnier. “We have to say it, we have savings to make but not within the timing imposed by the government” adds the elected official who says he prefers a two-step solution: “we are going to do what we can for 2025, then try to find room for maneuver by simplifying and debureaucratizing for the years to come”. The mayors hope that the copy will be revised in the Senate, the representative chamber of local authorities. In the meantime, they “are sounding the alarm, this year more than ever”alerts the municipal elected official.
