They are more than 110 to alert, more than 110 mayors to sign a letter addressed to the Head of State to defend “The republican equality of our priority neighborhoods”. The observation is scathing: “Despite the alerts, the towns and working-class neighborhoods remain a blind spot in the recovery plan: no ambitious measures have been taken to respond to the social and economic distress affecting our municipalities”, aggravated by the health crisis.
The request is direct: for “Strengthen the Republic” and establish “A new pact of confidence”, these city officials, who range from the Communist Party (PC) to the right, including the Socialist Party (PS) and Les Centristes, demand that 1% of the recovery plan, or one billion euros, be allocated to “Stalled territories” to respond to the health, economic and social emergency, including 620 million euros in the coming weeks, within the framework of the vote in the National Assembly of the amending finance bill.
The date is symbolic: three years ago, on November 14, 2017, Emmanuel Macron gave his speech in Tourcoing (North) calling for a “National mobilization for cities and neighborhoods” and praying the former minister of the city of Jacques Chirac, Jean-Louis Borloo, to “Put on the gloves”. This intervention had silenced the scolding of mayors and suburban associations, dubbed “The Grigny call” and which occurred following the freeze on subsidized jobs, budget cuts and the drop in APL.
National Solutions Council
Six months later, on May 22, 2018, the “Borloo plan” and its author were however swept away by the President of the Republic. “By publicly slapping Borloo, it is all of us, who had worked on the development of this report, which he blackballed, and these are the neighborhoods he let go, estimates Frédéric Leturque, mayor (Les Centristes) of Arras (Pas-de-Calais), signatory of the letter. But we are not in revenge, we have lost time, but we have solutions. “
On the menu, the creation of an emergency fund for associations, the establishment of local solidarity committees, a support fund for the creation of medical homes and health centers, and the provision of ” an envelope of 120 million euros to mobilize the actors of employment. Flagship proposal: the creation of a national solutions council. Composed of volunteers (elected officials, associations, entrepreneurs, etc.), it would be responsible for piloting and monitoring the implementation of projects which have proved their worth in the field.
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