2023-08-30 16:00:07
The socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, in front of the Hôtel de Ville, July 20, 2023. STEPHANE MOUCHMOUCHE / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP
When you ask Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy of Anne Hidalgo (Socialist Party) at the Paris City Hall, about his state of mind in this return to municipal life, he cuts you off with the most lively joy: “I have rarely experienced such a good political comeback! Usually, we are asked if the municipal majority [composée des socialistes, des écologistes et des communistes] hold on… There, the climate is very good! And there is the exciting construction site of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. » A spontaneous mood that could however be fleeting.
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Several ominous files are piling up on his desk. First of all, the imminent receipt by Parisian owners of their property tax notice, increased by 52% this year by the mayor of Paris – which brings the Parisian level closer to the rates practiced elsewhere in France – could plunge the local public opinion in marked discontent.
“There had already been a series of decided tax increases, such as the price of parking, which had been diluted, but which already illustrated a worsening of the financial situation of the City, intervenes Nelly Garnier, member of the opposition Les Républicains (LR) at the Council of Paris. But there, the vertiginous increase in the property tax, which is contrary to the mayor’s commitments, is a strong psychological marker which shows Parisians the direct and painful consequences of poor budgetary management: the increase in their taxes. »
To this was added the publication, on August 16, of an article from the chained duckwhose calculations bring to light, for the Paris municipality, a shortfall of 500 million euros in revenue from notary fees, due to falling real estate transactions. Nothing cataclysmic for Emmanuel Grégoire who ensures that “This figure is fanciful. It won’t be as bad. We know that we will have a small blow, but which remains easily absorbable thanks to our gross savings. Our budget is healthy. »
Pierre-Yves Bournazel, member of the presidential majority in the Council of Paris, nevertheless deplores “a lack of anticipation. I announced this market turnaround in December 2022. To reduce the City’s debt and maintain an essential investment capacity, this drop in revenue will complicate the task. There is therefore only one solution: reduce the lifestyle of the Town Hall. »
Highly symbolic conflict
At the same time, the list of dissatisfied grows. Booksellers on the banks of the Seine have been very upset since the Paris Police Prefecture told them in July that they would have to temporarily move 570 “boxes” in order to clear the way for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, scheduled July 26, 2024.
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