Post-riot reconstructions: the emergency bill definitively validated in Parliament

2023-07-22 03:58:18

It’s final. The National Assembly has just adopted the bill aimed at accelerating the reconstruction of buildings damaged or destroyed during urban violence. After a unanimous vote Tuesday July 18 of the Senate dominated by the right, this text was approved without change at the Palais-Bourbon by 260 votes for, 87 against, and 59 abstentions. This is worth final validation.

The deputies of the National Rally are the only ones to have opposed this text. For Marine Le Pen, this text is a “real shame”. “If they have to pay until the end of their days, they will pay until the end of their days”, she states, ensuring to reflect “the bottom of the thought of tens of thousands (sic) of mayors and tens of millions of French people”.

Thus, the bill presented to the Council of Ministers last week was adopted quickly. The text was promised on July 4 by Emmanuel Macron to the mayors affected, a few days after the riots triggered by the death of Nahel in Nanterre. The goal ? Accelerate reconstruction after the destruction that targeted buildings, street furniture and means of transport.

From Mons-en-Barœul, in the North, to Lormont, near Bordeaux, via Brie-Comte-Robert or Garges-lès-Gonesse, in the Paris region, more than 750 public buildings have been affected according to the government, more or less important. “The figures are three times higher than those of the three weeks of 2005”, indicated the Minister for Territorial Cohesion Christophe Béchu.

Act by order

This text includes three articles authorizing the government to act by ordinance on three levers. The first article provides for adaptations of the town planning code to speed up the reconstruction of public or private buildings that have been destroyed or degraded. This may involve identical reconstruction or with improvements, for example in terms of environmental performance.

The second concerns public procurement, which usually goes through calls for tenders. The aim is to speed up and simplify advertising and competition procedures. The last article adapts the framework applicable to subsidies paid to local authorities. It opens up the possibility of a zero charge for the communities concerned and will allow them to recover VAT in the current year, without waiting for the current two-year deadline.