The government of the resigned Gabriel Attal is supposed to deal only with “current affairs”. However, some of its initiatives go very wrong. Provided for in the “ceiling letter” sent to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, the drastic reduction of the green fund, which allows communities to finance environmentally virtuous projects, is very poorly received by representatives of associations of elected officials.
“This is a very bad sign, which makes us think that the ecological transition is no longer a major national priority.says Jean-François Vigier, vice president of the Association of French Mayors (AMF) and mayor of the UDI of Bures-sur-Yvette (Essonne). The ecological transition is essential, we know this perfectly well, and it must be done in the territories. To do so, we need to make significant investments in energy, food and biodiversity. »
On August 20, Matignon organized a briefing to present the so-called “zero-value” budget, without detailing the compensations. But, on Wednesday, August 28, online media reported that the budget was “zero-value”. Context revealed that the green fund was reduced from 2.5 billion euros to 1 billion. “How can a resigning government attack the means of action of elected officials in full exercise of their functions and the actions for the ecological transition? “adds Sébastien Martin, president of Intercommunalités de France and close to Xavier Bertrand, president (Les Républicains, LR) of the Hauts-de-France region.
On Thursday, aware of the inflammable nature of this reduction, Matignon put things into perspective, specifying that the appropriations for this fund would increase by 300 million by 2025. But the commitment authorisations, that is to say the expenditure planned for several years, would decrease in the long term. And Gabriel Attal’s services also wanted to point out that the next government could reverse these decisions.
Long awaited help
Not enough to allay the concerns of communities already burned by previous blows. In February, Attal’s government, seeking 10 billion euros in savings, had cut 400 million euros from the green fund. However, this system was regularly presented by the executive as a virtuous way to make the transition. “concrete in the territories”. During the financial bill (PLF) examined in autumn 2023, it was also increased by 500 million euros.
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