France/Presidential election 2022: the intermunicipalities want to make the candidates aware of the challenges of the territories

In a manifesto addressed to the candidates for the French Presidency, the AdCF Intercommunalités de France puts forward twenty-four proposals to improve public action by strengthening decentralisation and territorialisation.

New growth model, acceleration of theecological and energy transition of the territories, social and territorial cohesion, continuum of public action between the State and the communities. On these four major themes, the intercommunalities expect the State to learn from the health crisis, the action of the yellow vests and the great national debate of 2020. The AdCF Intercommunalités de France will challenge the candidates for the Presidency of the Republic with amanifesto aimed at raising their awareness of these essential subjects of local life.

Now that the territorial organisation has been completed, the territories are waiting for the institutional stability and budgetary visibility they need to design projects for the future. The territories are now waiting for the institutional stability and budgetary visibility necessary to design projects on the scale of life basins, with more solidarity between the communes. In other words, the inter-municipalities want to have a free hand to carry out the policies for which they are responsible. Preserving social and territorial cohesion must be a "strong axis of the next legislature, around a coherent strategy of territorial development". With, as a priority, access to employment and housing organised by living area. "The vertical steering of housing policy from Paris no longer makes sense," says the AdCF. Similarly, local authorities must be involved in the provision of healthcare. As for the accessibility of public services, it must be accompanied by local strategies for digital inclusion, mobility solutions for people with disabilities, and the creation of a network of local authorities.mobility solutions for vulnerable people, or even the "roaming" of public services.

Recalling that the health crisis has shown the constant interaction between the responsibilities of the State and local authorities, which are now jointly responsible for the health of the population.Recalling that the health crisis has shown the constant interaction between the responsibilities of the State and local authorities, which are now jointly responsible for public action, the AdCF is calling for public action to be "less vertical and less fragmented, more decentralised". Local authorities want to be involved at a very early stage in the major national policies, the implementation of which depends mainly on their skills and means of action. In addition, more room must be left for experimentation and differentiation. "New frameworks for dialogue and negotiation will have to be invented in order to calm State-local authority relations in the long term," says the AdCF.

Moreover, the intermunicipalities no longer want the financial and fiscal instability that deprives local authorities of any multi-year visibility on their budget. The reforms decided unilaterally by the State, which run counter to the decentralisation of responsibilities, are not acceptable.The reforms decided unilaterally by the State, which go against the decentralisation of responsibilities and the principle of financial autonomy, must stop. According to the AdCF, the allocation systems, "within which a great many compensation mechanisms have accumulated", must be simplified and accompanied by an increase in the level of autonomy.s and accompanied by an increase in the power of equalisation mechanisms in favour of the most fragile territories, during the next five years.

In order to accentuate the "devolution of responsibilities", the intercommunalities also wish that the notion of "organising authority", which prevails in the local authorities, be simplified.To accentuate the "devolution of responsibilities", the intercommunalities also want the notion of organising authority, which prevails in public transport, to be adopted in order to clarify the roles in other areas: environment or housing, for example. This concept would entail, in addition to obligations, the ability to act in financial and regulatory matters. It would make it possible to envisage a new decentralisation process, based on the respective "core businesses" of the territorial levels.

Moreover, the AdCF is asking for a more transversal, inclusive and multi-year contractualisation. Indeed, it notes that in order to implement shared strategies, contractual relations are best when commitments are made over time. On the other hand, the proliferation of calls for projects accentuates territorial competition and the feeling that public policies are fragmented.

In total, the intercommunalities put forward twenty-four proposals to the candidates. In particular, those to reinforce the responsibilities of the intermunicipalities as pilots of the economic development of their territory and to strengthen the partnership between regions and local authorities.and to strengthen the partnership between regions and intercommunalities on training issues in employment areas.

Source: www.weka.fr/actualite