The mayors of large cities advocated for more shared governance with the State, during an annual meeting of elected officials in Le Creusot (Saône-et-Loire) this Friday, October 17, while Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu proposed a new decentralization law. Johanna Rolland (PS), mayor of Nantes and president of the Urban France association, warned that a new wave of decentralization without financial and fiscal autonomy would be “a failure.”
The association questions the contribution of large cities and inter-municipalities in the draft budget for 2026, which it considers “disproportionate and unfair” for large urban areas, both in terms of volume and application methods. “How can we sincerely plan for an expansion of local responsibilities with a kind of budget sword of Damocles permanently hanging over our heads?” questioned Johanna Rolland, president of Urban France, which represents large French communities and metropolises.
“Organizing authorities of the transition”
Big cities want to promote the ecological transition at a local level. “We propose that, if this new stage of decentralization announced by the Prime Minister comes to fruition (…) it should be put at the service of the ecological transition,” declared Johanna Rolland, president of the Urban France association, which represents large French communities and metropolises.
This proposal is part of the debates on the “great act of decentralization” desired by Sébastien Lecornu. The Prime Minister asked local elected officials to send him their proposals before October 31 with the aim of presenting a bill in December, a few months before the municipal elections scheduled for March.
Source: BFM TV
