The Government will seek the opinion of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese) on the implementation of progressive water pricing, announced last Thursday by the president, before consulting elected officials, the Minister of Ecological Transition announced on Wednesday.
“That is why we are going to entrust to the Cese, initially, a request for a recommendation, to then discuss it with you (parliamentarians) and the associations of local elected officials who are in charge of pricing,” said the Minister, also in Charge of Territorial Cohesion. President Emmanuel Macron said that he wanted a “progressive and responsible pricing” of water that could “become widespread in France”, during the presentation of a plan dedicated to this resource threatened by global warming.
A parliamentary mission on local water governance
Christophe Béchu also announced that he was considering establishing a parliamentary mission on local water governance. “The president recalled (on Thursday) that conserving a water management system with isolated municipalities was not an option,” said the minister, noting that “80% of municipalities were deprived of drinking water last year and that 116 Of the 170 municipalities with leaks greater than 50% are municipalities that manage water on their own”.
“The challenge is to leave the isolated municipality without necessarily going towards an inter-municipal community, other forms of sharing can take over” taking into account the specificity of the territories, explained the minister. “That is the balance point that we have yet to find, and on which a parliamentary mission would allow us to specify how things could be done,” she concluded.
Source: BFM TV
