France/Ile-de-France: The region adopts a "constrained" budget with 760 million euros in savings

The budgets for renewable energies and housing are among the cuts voted by the Île-de-France Regional Council chaired by Valérie Pécresse.

Everyone is tightening their belts. On Thursday, the Ile-de-France regional council chaired by Valérie Pécresse voted its 2025 budget, which includes 760 million euros in savings.euros in savings, following lengthy debates on the reality of the amounts earmarked for certain sectors, including housing.

Faced with the threat of a 5% cut in its revenues in the initial finance bill for 2025, i.e. 221 million euros, as well as the loss of 100 million euros in VAT revenues miscalculated by the State, the regional council is planning to cut its budget by a further 760 million euros.As a result, the regional council is forecasting savings of 760 million euros in 2025, in anticipation of "three years of revenue losses", "without any increase in taxes", for the people of Ile-de-France.

A blank year in several sectors

"A constrained decision", Valérie Pécresse pleaded before the elected representatives, who voted for the 5.8-billion-euro budget.euros by 161 votes to 67, after the regional president refused to postpone the budget as proposed by some opposition members.

Criticizing a "policy of cuts" in the region's main areas of responsibility, transport and high schools, the former budget minister reaffirmed her intention to safeguard the region's financial interests.She reaffirmed her intention to keep these envelopes secure, and to suspend funding for all projects co-financed with the State, with the exception of transport.

On the other hand, the reduction in spending will result in a "blank year", with a halt to renewable energy projects, housing subsidies except for urban renewal, and a training program for the least qualified jobseekers.

"A budget of unprecedented austerity".

The battle of numbers dominated the debates for two days.

"It's a budget of unprecedented austerity", denounced Céline Malaisé (PCF), pointing out that the Barnier finance bill imposed "a reduction of only 161 million euros".

The Communist opposition warned of a 74 million euro cut in commitments to the construction of new housing, particularly social housing, as well as a reduction in investment in accessible transport.

Socialist Adrien Delacroix pointed to "the potentially disastrous effect of totally eliminating, without any moderation, support for various housing operations".

Resumption of funding in the event of "changes" in the State budget

"The Region is not abandoning housing; it is suspending new commitments, but honoring those already made", explained Geoffroy Didier, spokesman for the majority, to AFP. In the event of "changes" in the State budget, housing vice-president Jean-Philippe Dugoin-Clément promised a "resumption of funding in the short term".

The Socialists, for their part, denounced the "deceptive sanctuarization of investment in lycées", while the Ecologists called for "a return to the status quo".while the ecologists criticized priorities "focused on non-compulsory areas such as safety".

"The budget for secondary schools has been ring-fenced. You're talking about a significant drop in investment, but I don't see that in the draft 2025 budget", retorted James Chéron, UDI vice-president in charge of high schools, pointing out that social pricing for canteens had been maintained for the most modest.

Source: www.20minutes.fr/