French roads are suffering from a growing lack of investment, particularly in rail, denounced Tuesday the Road Union (URF), which represents the economic players in the road and automobile sectors.
In the operating and investment expenditure of public administrations in 2022, 57% was devoted to the rail network, and 15% to the road, according to the URF calculation.
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According to the URF, in 2022, 15.7 billion euros were spent on roads, a drop of 10.4% compared to 2012. However, the road brought in 47.8 billion euros for the State and communities. billion euros in revenue in 2022 (between taxes on fuel or insurance, and vehicle registration documents, in particular).
According to Jean-Pierre Paseri, president of Routes de France, which represents road manufacturers, “expenses linked to road maintenance are falling significantly, and even more so if we add inflation”.
A “slow degradation”
On the national network, the annual survey by the Road Observatory, led by administrations and manufacturers, confirmed in 2021 the continuation of a “slow deterioration of the roads observed in the past”, despite an improvement in 2020 and “an effort made in 2021 on the roads in the worst condition”.
On the departmental network, the condition of departmental roads has improved “slowly” after deterioration in 2019, according to the same study.
In terms of road safety, the number of deaths fell by 3% on the roads of mainland France in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Compared to 2019, the decrease amounts to 2.3%.
“Emphasize investments”
“We must increase investments and make them more effective.
We will not succeed in decarbonizing transport if we do not take care of the roads,” said the president of the URF, Thierry Archambault, during a press conference.
“We do not pit the modes of transport against each other, each has its area of relevance,” he underlined.
“The amounts put on the railway are a catch-up for past under-maintenance,” explained Jean-Pierre Paseri for his part.
“We have to put money on the road otherwise we will have the same underinvestment in a few years.”
Road traffic represented 27.8% of France's CO2 emissions in 2019, and private cars 15.7%, according to the public service for data and statistical studies.