Every elected official she met told her about it. During the National Days of Urban France, on September 22 and 23 in Reims (Marne), the president of the association, the socialist mayor of Nantes, Johanna Rolland, discussed the energy crisis at length. Urban France is a good observatory: it brings together 108 metropolises and large cities, and therefore, half of the French population.
In recent months, many elected officials have understood the magnitude of the energy crisis. “The soaring prices cause our bills to double on average”, says Johanna Rolland. The situation is very disparate from one community to another, but everywhere, the lines of credit are panicking. Strasbourg has announced a fivefold increase in the gas bill, which will increase from 12 million euros in 2022 to 62 million in 2023. The department of Seine-Saint-Denis expects to have to find 15 million euros more, Côte-d’Or or Lot-et-Garonne, 8 million euros. The president of Regions of France, the socialist Carole Delga, estimated the impact of inflation on regional budgets “more than a billion euros”.
Deputy Director General of the Rennes metropolitan area, Johan Theuret is worried: “The degree of uncertainty is maximum. In Rennes, we will pay very, very expensive. » Especially since there is the general increase in civil servants decided by the government in June. In Rennes, it is 2.4 million euros in a full year.
First assistant to the finances of the environmentalist mayor of Bordeaux Pierre Hurmic, Claudine Bichet recalls that it has already been necessary to digest the abolition of the housing tax, detrimental for such a dynamic city on the demographic level. And the Covid-19, which has led “25 million euros of additional expenses”. This year’s increases are “10% of our budget of 400 million euros”says M.me Bichet. “We are in a vice, she sighs. Without support measures, the choice is simple: reduce the public service, reduce investments. And possibly raise taxes, which would run counter to national policy. »
“Avoid power outages”
For now, local elected officials are looking for savings. During the congress of the regions of France, in mid-September, the president of the Senate echoed these concerns. ” The mayorsunderlined Gérard Larcher, question their ability to guarantee the operation of sports and cultural facilities or quite simply their ability to manage school catering prices. » No question of increasing them, explains Nantes native Johanna Rolland, “because we know that households could not afford it”.
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