Energy renovation: the French pay 6 billion euros a year for an administrative "bureaucratic nightmare"

As fuel prices skyrocket, every French person unknowingly finances energy-efficient renovations with each fill-up. But this "financial fuel" too often evaporates in a system that has become opaque. It's time to clean up an administrative machine that is sacrificing our tradespeople and household purchasing power.

The invisible sample at the end of the gun

Each French household contributes an average of €164 per year to the financing of Energy Savings Certificates (CEE). This cost is passed on by energy suppliers to the price of gas, electricity, and fuel. With every fill-up, you're paying for the energy transition. With soaring prices at the pump, this invisible levy is becoming unbearable, especially since it feeds a system whose effectiveness is seriously called into question by the reality of the figures.

Massive fraud targeting impoverished consumers

The sector's malaise is etched in the figures: today, nearly 60% of housing-related disputes involve services provided by tradespeople. The DGCCRF's (French Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control) reports are unequivocal: more than 50% of inspected establishments present irregularities. Between aggressive sales tactics and opaque quotes, the French, often caught off guard by the urgency or technical complexity of the situation, are the first victims of these abuses. A labyrinthine system has been allowed to develop, discouraging local tradespeople in favor of administratively agile but mediocre companies that offer poor service on the ground.

Trust: the only engine that shouldn't get clogged up

Having managed 650 field technicians before founding MeilleurArtisan.com, I know that trust can't be built through forms. Today, nearly 70% of French people fear being scammed when undertaking home improvement projects (source: Qualitel). Through our daily work providing digital support to thousands of tradespeople, we see the best among them abandoning the RGE (Recognized Environmental Guarantor) certification, disgusted by the bureaucracy. For this transition to succeed, we must radically simplify: let's secure payments so that the tradesperson is paid as soon as the work is approved, and the client has peace of mind. By putting people and guarantees at the heart of the process, rather than managing Cerfa forms, we will restore meaning to every euro spent by the French.

Energy renovation won't be achieved with Excel spreadsheets, but with expert hands. If the French are asked to make a financial effort regarding their fuel, the very least that can be done is to guarantee that this money is actually used to heat their homes, and not to feed a failing bureaucracy.

Opinion piece by Olivier Herlent, director of MeilleurArtisan.com (LinkedIn).