2026 Budget: Intercommunalities of France calls on Parliament to rectify the situation

Following the rejection of the text by the Assembly's Finance Committee, and noting the change in method announced by Sébastien Lecornu, Intercommunalités de France therefore calls on parliamentarians to extensively review the draft during the session. As it stands, the 2026 Budget places a disproportionate, unfair, and therefore unbearable burden on local authorities, and intermunicipal authorities in particular.

According to new estimates from Intercommunalités de France, with a contribution of at least €2,2 billion, including not only the measures in the draft finance bill but also the already known increase in the CNRACL, the contribution imposed on intercommunalities would represent a financial drain of more than 5% of their operating revenue. They would thus contribute to more than a third (37%) of the effort imposed on local authorities, while they represent 20% of local expenditure.

Many measures in the draft finance bill constitute a denial of the State's promise to compensate for unilateral abolitions or reductions in local taxes in recent years. Among them, Intercommunalités de France strongly deplores the significant and sudden reduction in compensation for the reduction in the tax bases of industrial premises subject to the CFE and TFPB, the reduction in the DCRTP, the State's monopolization of the dynamism of VAT, etc.

Not to mention the renewal of the "Dilico" scheme, the doubling of which this year would lead to the inclusion of less well-off communities than average in the scheme. The association also regrets that the return to communities of the funds set aside is now conditional on a target for expenditure growth. Clearly, contrary to what was announced by the Government, this scheme no longer seems to be "temporary" or "economic smoothing," as the conditions for the return to the communities levied have been tightened.

Another unpleasant surprise in the draft finance bill is the increase in the general tax on polluting activities (TGAP), which would also impose several hundred million euros on inter-municipal authorities for the public waste management service, although this would be mitigated for some by the standardization of the VAT rate for services purchased by local authorities for waste recovery and collection equipment. However, local authorities have little room for maneuver regarding the tonnage of residual household waste collected, especially since the proceeds of this increase are not allocated to policies to reduce the production of non-recoverable waste.

Thus, the revenue reduction measures provided for in the draft finance bill represent revenue cuts that are clearly incompatible with the principle of financial autonomy, exceeding 2% of operating revenue for 561 inter-municipal authorities, or nearly half of them, and even rising above 10% for 13 inter-municipal authorities.

Intercommunalités de France is also very concerned by the fact that these measures would particularly affect industrial areas, in complete contradiction with the Government's stated objective of reindustrializing the country.

Well aware of the need for local authorities to contribute to the budgetary effort, Intercommunalités de France is calling on MPs and then senators to broadly review the draft presented by the Government. Voted as is, the 2026 Budget will suffocate a large number of territories, with significant repercussions on the economy and growth, but also on the public services our fellow citizens benefit from.

As Intercommunalités de France constantly repeats, local elected officials deplore the lack of financial visibility for communities beyond 2026. During an upcoming meeting with the Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, the elected officials of Intercommunalités de France will reiterate their proposals for simplifying and clarifying the institutional organization to generate savings commensurate with the challenges facing our country.

Find the interactive map of the amounts of revenue levies in the 2026 Finance Bill