What’s happening in… Paris
Local elected representatives are frequently on the move across France, something for which they are sometimes criticised. But the corridors of power remain in Paris: it is there that public policy is negotiated and, within the ministries, that the region’s interests are championed. An update on the latest meetings…
At the Grand Case festival on 21 July, it was the Vice-President, Alain Richardson, who presided in the absence of the President, who was once again away on business. On that date, the President of the Collectivité, the Senator and the Member of Parliament were in attendance at the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Housing. At stake was the inclusion of Saint Martin in the new National Urban Regeneration Programme (PNRU), which is due to be submitted to Parliament in the autumn.
Inclusion in the urban regeneration programme
Accompanied by two technical advisers, Louis Mussington, Annick Pétrus and Frantz Gumbs travelled to the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Housing with the intention of raising the issue with the Minister, Vincent Jeanbrun, regarding the ‘systematic omission of Saint Martin’ from national urban regeneration programmes.
Two schemes have succeeded one another since 2004: the National Urban Regeneration Programme, which ended in 2021, followed by the New National Urban Regeneration Programme, launched in 2014. A new programme is due to be examined by Parliament in the autumn. To be eligible for funding, Saint-Martin must be included on the list of eligible territories, drawn up by decree.
To date, the territory has never received support from the National Agency for Urban Regeneration (ANRU). The three elected representatives pointed out that the three priority neighbourhoods (Sandy Ground, Quartier d’Orléans and Saint-James) are home to more than 30 per cent of the population. They believe that Saint Martin should have access to the same standard schemes as other French territories, without having to request special provisions. Inclusion in the future programme would, in particular, help to speed up the refurbishment of housing, the regeneration of public spaces, the creation of community facilities and the development of local shops.
This meeting also followed the Senate’s adoption, at first reading on 8 July, of the draft bill on the recovery and decentralisation of housing. According to the elected representatives, the minister listened to the arguments put forward and a dialogue is now underway to ensure that Saint-Martin is no longer excluded from national urban regeneration policies.
Two days later, on Thursday 23 July, Louis Mussington continued his ministerial meetings by being received by the Minister for Overseas Territories, Naïma Moutchou.
