" Regionalize ". Like a mantra, Valérie Pécresse hammered her message to the government. Faced with the social and economic crisis, faced with insecurity, in terms of health, in terms of town planning ... A simple solution, according to her, exists: delegate ever more powers to the regions. Guest of the “Grand Jury RTL-LCI -Le Figaro ”, the president of the Ile-de-France region called for a “ great movement of decentralization ”. " It has been the Arlesian woman of this government for three years, " she said, while the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, is preparing a new stage of decentralization.
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As such, Jacqueline Gourault, the minister responsible for local government, must relaunch the consultations suspended on the so-called 3D bill (decentralization, differentiation, deconcentration). Not enough, according to Valérie Pécresse, for whom the regions showed during the Covid-19 crisis that they were more " agile " than the State, especially when it came to ordering masks. The prefect mayor couple also proved to be very effective in crisis management, when the health administration got bogged down. So much so that " the government has heard our request to regionalize deconfinement ", she believes she knows. Proof of this is, Matignon piloted a differentiated deconfinement according to the departments.
300,000 more unemployed in Île-de-France
At the head of a powerful regional executive, Valérie Pécresse called for a clear “ method ” for decentralization, and broader skills on “ employment ”. And the former member for Yvelines to sound the alarm: there will be " 300,000 more unemployed in Île-de-France by the end of the year ". The Covid-19 crisis is " a tsunami that takes everything in its path " and involves, for Ile-de-France, a debt of " 1 billion euros ", because of the loss of revenue and the increased spending.
In compensation, its executive has voted, urgently, an additional budget of 1.3 billion euros for the next six months, which the region will finance through debt. A regional version of the presidential “ whatever it costs ”? Not really according to the former adviser to Jacques Chirac. “ The government has been spending countless years for years. This is not at all the case with the regions. In Ile-de-France, we have a debt capacity ”, she argued.
The former Sarkozy minister for the budget and public accounts also fears that a second wave of the epidemic will " really put the economy of France in check ". It advocates a return to work for " all ", advocates for company agreements on working time, and wants a revival of growth. " France cannot bear that we produce less. A country that produces less becomes a vassal state, of the United States today, of China tomorrow, ”she asserts. She also considers a pension reform " necessary ", but on the basis of an extension of the contribution period, and does not want a reform of unemployment benefits.
" Sagging State Authority "
" Regionalize " the economy therefore, but also security. The president of her micro-party, “ Libres! ", Since she left the Republicans (LR) more than a year ago, denounces a" collapse of state authority ". His targets: the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner and his recent controversial statements towards the police, or even Nicole Belloubet, the Keeper of the Seals, and his invitation sent to the family of Adama Traoré, who died in 2016 following 'a muscular challenge. “ The Covid has increased tensions in the suburbs. A plan is needed to deconstruct the urban planning of these ghetto neighborhoods , ”she urged, citing the example of Denmark. A plan that would once again go through the regions. " The police justice chain must be restored, " she insisted, judging that Christophe Castaner " damaged the image of the police ". She therefore invited Emmanuel Macron to draw all the " consequences ".
Valérie Pécresse was also worried about “extremely disturbing comments ” by judge Éliane Houlette in the Fillon case. " There must be no suspicion of political justice in our country ."
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For the moment, Valérie Pécresse assures that she is not undergoing either a reshuffle or regional elections. Even if the project envisaged by Emmanuel Macron, and unveiled in our columns, to postpone the date to 2022 made him cough. “ It's a meeting with the people. It does not depend on the regional presidents or the head of state. The message got through.
