Petanque tournament, cooking classes and golf competition on a prestigious, fully privatized 18-hole course. This program with the false air of team building The meeting brought together, on July 4, at the Ormesson golf course (Val-de-Marne), a few dozen local elected officials affiliated with the Association of Mayors of Ile-de-France (AMIF). An event organized thanks to the generosity of a dozen companies operating in the construction sector (Bouygues, Razel-Bec Fayat), the real estate sector (GreenCity), daycare (Babilou) and even transport (Lacroix & Savac ), including economic interests, may depend on the local decisions of these same elected officials, such as the awarding of public contracts, urban plans or construction permits.
Is this “territorial trophy”, organized every year for twenty-two years, an obsolete symbol of “dad policy”as some elected officials thought when they discovered its existence, in August, in a scathing article in the chained duck in the FAMI? In any case, it raises questions about the merits of events organized by partnerships of elected officials with private companies, where the line between experience sharing, lobbying and collusion can sometimes be blurred.
“We are convinced of the need to create frameworks for dialogue between local elected officials and their different actors”defends Marion Vergeylen, general director of the FAMI. In parallel with its golf tournament, each year the association takes around thirty elected officials from the Ile-de-France region and as many representatives of its associated companies on study trips abroad to “Be inspired by the innovations and good practices of the main cities of the world”. “The objective is not to discuss public procurementassures Sophie Rigault, chief of staff of the president of the association. It would be completely counterproductive anyway, because in this case the elected officials would no longer come. »
“It is not a very healthy environment”
The Villes de France association also takes care of the trips abroad that it periodically organizes for its members (elected officials of medium-sized cities) with the financial and logistical support of partners such as Engie or Veolia. “These trips deal with a specific topic linked to the powers of elected officials, such as water reuse or the energy transition”explains the direction of the association.
“It is legitimate for elected officials to keep up to date with innovations by participating in these types of events”estimates researcher François Nicolle, who has studied lobbying strategies at the local level. But moments of sociability such as sports tournaments or festive evenings “They are located in a gray area between public and private life, very difficult to control”Nicolle points out. “These events are a way for companies to meet in person with elected officials and hold them accountable.says a former participant in FAMI trips. Companies have them on hand for several days, they talk to each other informally, they go together to play in the casino: it is not a very healthy environment. »
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