Urban renewal projects threatened due to lack of state funding, warns Vergriete

A pillar of the urban policy designed to change the face of old large housing estates, the ANRU is in the process of implementing its second renovation program, the New National Urban Renewal Program (NPNRU), with a budget of 12 billion euros.

"We are at the peak of project completions, and therefore of financial disbursements (...) However, at the end of the year, the ANRU will reach zero cash flow and even if the State is a very small minority in the financing (...) the actor who has not contributed its share to the ANRU is the State," explained Patrice Vergriete before the Senate Economic Affairs Committee.

"If there is not enough money in the 2026 Finance Act, we will be forced to stop NPNRU projects in a number of places," he warned.

The 2025 finance law provides €50 million for the ANRU. "Are the €50 million you voted for enough? Barely. Will they be enough next year? No," he said, judging that the state had the capacity to provide "€250 to €300 million" for 2026.

Mainly financed by the joint body Action Logement (8,4 billion), the second Anru program is also financed by social landlords (2,4 billion euros) and the State (1,2 billion).

The agency's new head was questioned on the future of urban renewal policy, as the second and final program led by the agency is due to end in 2030.

"In urban policy, we can perhaps debate the social aspect, but there is unanimity in recognizing that urban renewal is a great success in terms of the way in which it has profoundly changed the lives of residents," he explained, arguing for a third program, still aimed at priority neighborhoods of urban policy (QPV).

"It takes four to five years to prepare the projects and it is in four to five years that the last ANRU 2 projects will be completed, so if we want to avoid a lull around 2030, this means starting an ANRU 3 program today," said Mr. Vergriete, arguing for "a tax allocated to ANRU" for after 2030.

Launched in 2014, the NPNRU plans the profound transformation of more than 450 priority neighborhoods, where three million inhabitants live, by intervening significantly on housing and public facilities with the ambition of improving social diversity.