Ile-de-France adopts a "constrained" budget with 760 million euros of savings

Faced with the threat of a 5% cut in its revenue in the initial finance bill for 2025, i.e. 221 million euros as well as a loss of 100 million in VAT revenue miscalculated by the State, the regional council is planning 760 million euros in savings in 2025 to anticipate "three years of revenue losses", "without tax increases", for the people of the Paris region.

"A forced decision," argued Ms. Pécresse before the elected officials, who voted for the budget of 5,8 billion euros by 161 votes for, 67 against, after the regional president refused to postpone the budget as proposed by some opposition elected officials.

Criticizing a "policy of cutting back" on the main regional skills - transport and high schools - the former budget minister reaffirmed her intention to protect these envelopes and to suspend the financing of all projects co-financed with the State, except in transport.

The drop in spending, however, leads to a "blank year" with the cessation of renewable energy projects, housing subsidies except for urban renovation, as well as a training program for the least qualified job seekers.

The battle of numbers dominated the debates for two days.

"This is a budget of unprecedented austerity," denounced Céline Malaisé (PCF), stressing that the Barnier finance bill only imposed "a reduction of 161 million euros."

The communist opposition has warned of a cut of 74 million euros in commitments to the construction of new housing, particularly social housing, as well as a drop in investment in making transport accessible.

Socialist Adrien Delacroix pointed out "the disastrous effect that the measure of completely removing, without any moderation, support for various housing operations could have".

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

The socialists denounced for their part "a deceptive sanctuarization of investments in high schools", while the ecologists criticized priorities "centered on non-obligatory skills such as security".

"The budget for high schools is protected. You are talking about a significant drop in investments that I do not find in the 2025 budget project," retorted James Chéron, UDI vice-president in charge of high schools, recalling that the social pricing of canteens was maintained for the most modest.