The government team is trying to take better account of rural populations. This Thursday morning, the Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, and five of his ministers, including Élisabeth Borne at the Ecological Transition, Christophe Castaner at the Interior and Jacqueline Gourault, at the Cohesion of the Territories, will meet the inhabitants of two small Vosges municipalities, for an inter-ministerial committee on rural areas. These are Xertigny and Girancourt, located south of Épinal, whose citizens feel neglected by the central government and regional metropolises. "This first interministerial committee on ruralities will be an opportunity to take stock of the implementation of the rural agenda, five months after its presentation in Hauts-de-France," recalls Jacqueline Gourault.
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Decided after the movement of "yellow vests" by the executive, this rural agenda is a series of 181 measures, intended to improve the daily life of the inhabitants of rural areas, who see public services and shops disappear one after the other. of proximity, sucked by the biggest agglomerations. "More than nine out of ten municipalities in France have less than 2,000 inhabitants," recalls the geographer Cédric Allmang, who specializes in rural areas.
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On the program of this interministerial trip to Xertigny (2,600 inhabitants), the establishment of a new service, that of the "daily security police in rural areas", which will be in close contact with farmers. Its aim is to prevent numerous intrusions into agricultural holdings, in particular by animal activists or fuel thieves.
The “1000 coffees” project
Another highlight of the day: a visit to the "Le Petit Campagnard" café-restaurant in Girancourt (896 inhabitants). On sale for three years, this business would have disappeared without the "1000 coffees" project, for which it was selected. The signing of an agreement between the manager, the town hall and the SOS group, specializing in the solidarity economy, and to whom the management of the “1000 cafes” project has been entrusted, saved the establishment. To facilitate the resumption of cafes in municipalities with fewer than 3,500 inhabitants, the government has also decided to issue a free license IV, which allows the sale of alcohol, as well as to offer tax breaks.
Read also: Digital, a solution for rurality
Very high speed and fiber optics are also part of the government's priorities in order to allow digital access to rural people. However, some specialists consider this range of measures insufficient. " Rurality is a key element in the development of our country in the same way as metropolitan areas ," says Cédrick Allmang. These measures, some of which had already been announced by previous governments, are a dusting that will not restore territorial cohesion between Paris and the province, nor within the same region between small municipalities and metropolises ”.
