Government ministries soon to be tenants? MPs vote to create a state-owned real estate company

The text, championed by MP Thomas Cazenave (Renaissance), was passed by a large majority of MPs, from the National Rally to the Socialists (77 votes against 22).

Other left-wing groups opposed it, some denouncing it as a "dismantling" of public assets in the name of a neoliberal ideology, which would ultimately further weaken public services.

The State has a stock of nearly 96 million m2 of built surface area and more than 42.000 km2 of unbuilt land with an estimated value of around 74 billion euros.

Debated "for more than twenty years but always postponed", the reform constitutes, according to Mr. Cazenave, "a complete change of model" to meet two challenges: the ecological transition and "the effectiveness of public action".

The objective is to reduce the building stock by 25% by 2032, while "improving the reception conditions for users and the working conditions for public agents", according to the explanatory memorandum of this law.

The property company, which would take the form of a public establishment, would own the buildings. The roles of owner and occupant would then be separated, in order to hold the administrations accountable for the areas actually used.

According to Mr. Cazenave, rents will encourage "reduction, pooling or selling off unnecessary space".

They will notably help to finance the ecological transition of the park.

"Without a unified operational tool (...) we will not be able to face the immensity of the task before us," argued the Minister of the Civil Service, David Amiel, recalling "the investment wall of 140 to 150 billion euros needed by 2050" for bringing the fleet up to standard.

"You are preparing to organize the piecemeal sale of the State's assets," protested MP Aurélien Le Coq (LFI), seeing it as a "replica of the whims" of Javier Milei, the Argentinian president, known for his ultraliberal policies.

The elected representative from the communist group, Emmanuel Maurel, while acknowledging that the management of state assets was "not optimal", criticized a centralization and a constraint of profitability, which could "backfire on the state by increasing its expenses".

The Socialist group succeeded in getting amendments adopted to more strictly regulate the system, specifying for example the need to maintain public service in the territories and the working conditions of agents, thus justifying its vote in favor.

The government has initiated the accelerated procedure on this text, which will now have to be examined by the Senate.