You almost have to read between the lines: the government does not intend to compensate for the additional cost of the energy bill in transport, even if it says it is ready to discuss with the SNCF, indicated Transport Minister Clément Beaune.
“We will not finance everything for everyone”, he said, this Thursday, in front of journalists, at the congress of Regions of France, in Vichy (Allier).
The boss of the SNCF estimated on Wednesday the additional cost linked to the increase in the price of electricity between 1.6 and 1.7 billion euros, not excluding an increase in the price of tickets.
Clément Beaune indicated that he would discuss the subject with him: "The State will not be able to absorb everything, that's clear", he underlined.
The SNCF should be able to live "without a huge impact" next year and, "in the very short term, this is not a major budgetary subject of the State-SNCF relationship", assured Clément Beaune.
In Île-de-France, Valérie Pécresse on Wednesday brandished an increase in the price of transport and the Navigo pass due to the increase in the price of electricity.
Half of SNCF's additional electricity costs will come from regional trains and should therefore theoretically be reimbursed by the regions.
The regions will have to “support a part”
Clément Beaune said, this Thursday, not considering a priori aid for the regions, which are contracted to cover the rise in energy prices for the public transport they organize.
“In general, (
the state
) does not cover all the costs for the regions.
(…) They will have to support part of it, ”he added, recalling that Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne had announced that the government intended above all to help the municipalities.
At the same time, the minister indicated that he was thinking about a “pricing measure” to encourage the use of public transport.
He said he was more interested in the formula currently being tested in Spain – free subscriptions after a certain number of train journeys – than in the German “9 euro ticket” – all German public transport, urban and regional, was at 9 euros per month this summer – which did little to encourage motorists to abandon their vehicles.
To compensate for the rise in fuel prices, the government had applied from April 1 a rebate of 18 cents payable on each liter at the pump.
It rose to 30 cents in September and will drop to 10 cents from November to, a priori, stop at the end of the year.
The bill for this measure should amount to 7.5 billion euros, according to government forecasts.
