Reshuffle in Housing and the City: Olivier Klein replaced by a duo, shared sector professionals

Since Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017, the Housing portfolio has changed hands and scope with each reshuffle, when it has not simply disappeared.

This time, the former left-wing mayor of Clichy-sous-Bois is succeeded by a duo: in charge of Housing, the mayor of Dunkirk Patrice Vergriete, and in charge of the City, Marseille MP Sabrina Agresti-Roubache.

Little known, the two landed their first government jobs. But the fact that they are separated already raises some fears.

"Beyond the people, what concerns us a bit is the fact of having split the two", worries Christophe Robert, general delegate of the Abbé Pierre Foundation.

Who, for example, will take care of the National Agency for Urban Renewal (Anru), a key instrument of city policy but closely linked to the world of social housing?

Emmanuelle Cosse, president of the Social Union for Housing (USH) which represents social landlords, said she was "scandalized" by the attachment of the Ministry of the City to the Ministry of the Interior rather than that of Territorial Cohesion.

"It's crazy, it's a total regression. I have the impression that it's a very strong rightwing of the vision of the city, and above all, it shows that this government does not understand anything about the issues of the city, "she protests.

Against the current, Loïc Cantin, president of the National Federation of Real Estate (Fnaim), welcomes the separation of the portfolios of the City and Housing "because the many issues related to housing required a ministry of full exercise".

"Not very reassuring"

But beyond the architecture of the government and the personalities named, "the question that arose with Minister Klein and which will arise with Minister Vergriete, is what weight to be able to carry a housing policy, and what is the intention of the executive? "Asks Christophe Robert. “We are in a big blur, and obviously, it is not very reassuring”.

“What this first year of the Borne government has shown us is that the subject is not just the competence of the ministers in place, the subject is do they weigh in the arbitrations?”, notes Emmanuelle Cosse.

Because over his twelve months at the ministry, Olivier Klein, yet a good connoisseur of city and housing policy, has struggled to exist against the Ministry of the Economy, which, under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, has multiplied budget cuts in the sector.

"Bruno Le Maire was odious with him", judges a deputy of the majority, for whom "Bercy took advantage of the fact that we have no housing policy".

"He did not bring a bill, he must be biting his fingers", comments this elected macronist.

The National Refoundation Council (CNR) dedicated to housing, wanted by the President of the Republic, put all the actors to work for seven months, who issued a battery of proposals that have never been made public.

Almost none were retained by the executive.

Worse, at the conclusion of the CNR, the government announced the abolition of the Pinel tax niche and the refocusing of the zero-rate loan, supports for new construction. Bruno Le Maire boasted of saving 2 billion euros in this way.

From solidarity associations to employers' organizations, the disappointment was unanimous.

"I do not regret it, this moment of consultation, of unprecedented sharing", commented Olivier Klein on Friday, moved to tears, by transmitting the portfolio of the City to the Marseille deputy Sabrina Agresti-Roubache. "This CNR lays the foundations (...) for housing for all".

For the 2024 budget, Bercy has however assumed to target housing as a priority to save money.

"We cannot respond only to the directives of Bercy, which intends to take over and reduce housing policy to a small budget line", supports Loïc Cantin. For him, Patrice Vergriete will have to "be a magician" if he wants to avoid it.

Patrice Vergriete, the strong man of Dunkirk appointed to Housing

Patrice Vergriete, appointed Minister of Housing on Thursday, had been the mayor of Dunkirk (North) for almost ten years, where this polytechnician from a popular background, classified as "various left", has firmly established himself and appears as a bulwark to the RN.

Mr. Vergriete was also president of the agglomeration of this industrial sub-prefecture, held for 25 years by the socialist baron Michel Delebarre, and of which he was the deputy.

Dissenting under the colors "various left" in 2014, he had stolen the town hall from his mentor, before being re-elected in 2020 with more than 64% of the votes collected in the first round. A remarkable performance in a region marked by the inexorable advance of the National Rally.

The mayor can also be proud of a fall in the unemployment rate in his employment area, which fell from 11,7% in 2014 to 8,6% at the end of 2021. Better: he managed to change the image of his city by successfully opening it up to tourism.

Courted by the macronie, Patrice Vergriete had until then wanted to cultivate a certain independence.

The one who distinguished himself for having equipped his city with the largest free transport network in Europe had taken over in November the head of the Agency for the financing of transport infrastructures in France (Afit), an establishment under the supervision of the State responsible for coordinating the financing of major transport infrastructure projects.

Born in a popular district of Dunkirk 55 years ago, the new member of the government is the son of a shipyard boilermaker and a stay-at-home mother.

A graduate of Polytechnique and Ponts et Chaussées after a scientific preparation at the Parisian high school Louis-le-Grand, this urban planning specialist had started his career at the OECD, before joining the cabinets of the socialists Martine Aubry and Claude Bartolone under the Jospin government.

In 2000, he became director of the Dunkirk Urban Planning Agency, before working for the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (2008-2012).

Cantor of carbon-free industry thanks to a mix between nuclear and renewable energies, the mayor of Dunkirk had managed to have his city labeled "territory of innovation" by the State and benefit from an investment plan of nearly 300 million euros to implement an ecological transition program.

The government had notably announced a vast investment plan to decarbonize steel production at the ArcelorMittal plant, or the establishment of three factories for the production of low-carbon battery cells, new generation so-called "solid" batteries and cathode materials for lithium batteries.

Claiming to be committed to an "ecological and social transition", Mr. Vergriete supports the offshore wind farm project off the coast, contested by several local associations.

His positions in favor of the installation of two EPR reactors in the neighboring town of Gravelines, and his displayed support for the candidacy of Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election of 2022, had earned him the departure of the elected EELV of the municipal majority.

The reaction of building professionals

The FFC

The French Federation of Individual House Builders welcomes the appointment of the Mayor of Dunkirk, Patrice Vergriete, as the new Minister of Housing. “Our hopes are at the height of the disappointment of the past months”.

New construction has been very poorly regarded by the public authorities for a few months, even a few years now. The detached house is even more so, as 84% ​​of French people hope to one day be able to become the proud owner of a house with a small garden.

For Damien Hereng, President of the FFC: “So we wish you the best in this necessary reconciliation and listening between professionals and our political decision-makers. Professionals are confronted on a daily basis with the need to build living spaces that correspond to the expectations and needs of the French. There are many proposals to restore momentum to a sector which is undergoing an unprecedented crisis and requires urgent measures to be taken! »

REIT

For Pascal Boulanger, President of the FPI: “Housing is experiencing a serious multifactorial crisis to which the government can no longer turn a blind eye. The announcement of a delegated ministry entirely devoted to this issue is positive. I extend my best wishes to Patrice Vergriete in the exercise of his new ministerial functions. I know his work: he is a mayor anchored in the reality of the territories, fully informed about the expectations of our fellow citizens and very directly concerned by the housing of the employees of the future Dunkirk gigafactory. In view of the dazzling economic development of his city, I have no doubt that he will deploy the same energy at the national level to curb the housing crisis with powerful and rapid measures, commensurate with the challenges. As always, he can count on the commitment of the professionals at his side. I also hope that the appointment of Thomas Cazenave to the Ministry of the Budget, whom I salute, will make it possible to foster a dialogue that is as useful as necessary with Bercy. During our meetings last June, at the FPI Congress and then at the Colloquium on the decentralization of housing that he organised, I then insisted on what seems to me to be the mother of all battles: "Do we still want to build in France?" This will be my first question to Messrs. Vergriete and Cazenave, when I meet them. The time is no longer for an accounting approach to housing policy but for courageous political decisions to restore the means for our fellow citizens to find decent housing. »

FOPH

The Federation of DPOs is looking forward to meeting the new Minister of Housing, as the current issues are numerous and intense with regard to the production and renovation of housing in general, and HLM housing in particular. The FOPH is now available to discuss these major issues.

The Federation hopes that its long experience as a local elected representative will contribute to advancing the necessary decentralization of housing and housing policies, in particular by broadening the powers of the housing organizing authorities (AOH) and by providing them with dedicated funding for social housing in order, in particular, to improve the link between employment and access to housing.

The FOPH is eager to discuss with the new Minister of Housing on the challenges of accelerating production and renovation. The FOPH is ready to mobilize alongside it to achieve the ambitious objectives which are its own, and which are also those of the National Low Carbon Strategy.

For Marcel Rogemont, President of the Federation of DPOs: “I would like to thank Olivier Klein for our exchanges and our attempts to move forward on a pact of trust. I welcome the appointment of Patrice Vergriete, with whom I hope to work actively on all matters related to social housing, in order to curb the decline in investment and find ways of an ambitious agreement to house more and better our fellow citizens. »

The FFB

The FFB takes note of the reorganization which particularly concerns the building. She calls on the new Housing Minister Patrice Vergriete to quickly grasp the extent of the worsening crisis in new housing. Furthermore, it welcomes the appointment of a Secretary of State for the City, Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, given the recent urban tensions. She congratulates Philippe Vigier, new Minister Delegate for Overseas Territories because the challenges are numerous.

At a time when residential pathways are blocked everywhere, France needs a real housing policy. A new course is needed that integrates the challenges of ecological transition and land use planning, particularly in terms of land.

A few weeks before the discussions on the 2024 finance bill, the FFB reiterates its priority requests: the restoration of the new zero-rate loan (PTZ) in its 2017 format and the revision of the scales, the deployment of a "Pinel 2022" type device pending the establishment of a private lessor status and the sustainability of the tax credit in favor of the energy renovation of VSE-SME premises.

These urgent measures are an essential first step. The sector also needs visibility on all of these missions, in terms of renovation and construction. These are two inseparable pillars. As it has always done, the FFB will continue its fights in the service of companies of all sizes and will make concrete proposals, useful to the French.

Olivier Salleron, president of the FFB, expects strong actions from the government and will quickly meet the new ministers: “Disappointed by the conclusions of the CNR Logement, the FFB strongly warned of the social and economic risks. Many short-term and structural proposals are on the table. Now they have to be implemented. »