“Building a new contract of responsibility between local authorities and the State”
On October 4, Draguignan was, for a day, the meeting place for the 153 municipalities of Var, its metropolis, its 4 agglomeration communities and...
On October 4, Draguignan was, for a day, the meeting place for the 153 municipalities of Var, its metropolis, its 4 agglomeration communities and its 7 communities of municipalities. As vice-president of the Région in charge of attractiveness and mayor of La Londe-les-Maures, François de Canson wished to show a significant sign of appreciation for all mayors and the mark of constructive work between the State and local authorities: “Here we are in one of the final years where the exercise of our municipal mandates is not being challenged. We are entering the last full year for a peaceful exercise of this mandate.
The 2026 deadline will arrive very quickly. I know that you are all in the final stretch where you need to deliver, communicate on what you have achieved, and imagine the future. The challenge is not easy.
I would tend to say that it has never been so arduous. With national tensions exacerbated, which some would like to see plague our territories.
Use your strength. You are the artisans of daily life, you know your towns, your constituents. You are proximity!
” PLACE OF TERRITORIES Then, he shared some good news from Europe: “It often seems insurmountable to compile European grant applications. We have a dedicated regional team to support you. It is not reserved only for large companies or large municipalities.
And it works! With the Association des Maires du Var and the Europe department, we can think about setting up an information and training session on current and future calls for projects managed by the Région, namely the FEDER and FSE cohesion funds or the more agricultural FEADER funds.”
He also addressed the subject of decentralization and the role of territories: “It escaped no one's attention that during his outing Bruno Lemaire gave us a little tackle to the kneecap, letting slip that the country's deficit was the result of the uncontrolled rise in spending by local authorities. The reactions were immediate: pathetic, fallacious, disconnected, all levels agreed from the Association des Maires de France (AMF) to Régions de France (RDF).
NEW CONTRACT WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES Michel Barnier, in his general policy speech, set out principles: Listening, dialogue, and contractualization with local authorities and local elected officials who prove their courage and commitment every day. The vice-president continued: “I have a high opinion of the role of our local authorities in the Republic. 40 years after the major decentralization laws, we must build a new contract of responsibility between local authorities and the State.
We respect the powers of local authorities and their elected officials who have reaffirmed in such law of Var the major subjects to accelerate in order to submit them to him. I particularly have in mind the madness of the PAPI, which cost us fortunes, to the great delight of consultancy firms. This is becoming indecent and exhausts us without ever getting a single shovel in the ground.
Besides, who here has managed to get their PAPI approved in Var? ” “We will bring back concrete simplification proposals from the field, for which we will ask Parliament to remove the obstacles that stem from current regulations.”
For François de Canson, the appointment of the number 3 of the Government with Mme Vautrin as minister of Partnership with Territories and Decentralization is an encouraging sign: “We met her in Strasbourg. She will be in Aix-en-Provence on October 21 alongside Renaud Muselier for the Congrès des Maires of the region. She has this mindset of simplification and heightened attention to rural areas.
So, let us reflect with the elected officials of Var on the major issues to be accelerated in order to submit them to her.
I particularly have in mind the madness of the PAPI, which cost us fortunes, to the great delight of consultancy firms. This is becoming indecent and exhausts us without ever getting a single shovel in the ground. Besides, who here has managed to get their PAPI approved in Var?
” “The families of our deceased deserve better. Continuing like this is an insult to the future and means taking risks that could have been minimized for years,” warned the mayor of La Londe-les-Maures, addressing the préfet of Var, who is also concerned about this subject.
In the presence of: Philippe MAHE, préfet of Var, Jean-Louis MASSON, president of the Département, Richard STAMBIO, mayor of Draguignan, conseiller régional, Jean-Pierre VERAN, president of the Association des Maires du Var, mayor of Cotignac. Bernard CHILINI, 1st vice-president of the Association des Maires du Var.
More than €272 million has been invested since 2016 under the Contrat régional d'équilibre territorial (CRET) and “Nos territoires d'abord” to support structural projects: • La maison de la créativité - Chalucet in Toulon, • L'Espace 3000 in Hyères, • The creation of the Grand Vallat agricultural zone in La Farlède, • The creation of a Les Bormettes technological hub (La Londe-les-Maures), • La maison du campus de la Dracénie, • The creation of a sports and leisure complex in Les Arcs, • The creation of the Maison de Santé du Pays de Fayence, • The creation of a Multimodal Interchange Hub in Brignoles, • The rehabilitation of a wasteland into an agri-cultural cooperative in Aups, • The pedestrianization of the port and town center of Sanary-sur-Mer, • The redevelopment of the heart of the village of Signes.
Photos Alain BLANCHOT.