Paris Council: the 200 million euro deconfinement plan adopted

The Council of Paris adopted on Monday its plan the deconfinement of Anne Hidalgo (PS). Despite criticisms from the opposition, there were no votes against, even if the right and the macronists on the right preferred to abstain. This 200 million euro plan complements all emergency aid measures and aims to support economic activity.

Larger terraces for traders

To facilitate the recovery of merchants hit hard by the crisis, the City is offering to make available new sales spaces. Restaurant owners and cafeterias can extend their terraces on the sidewalk or in the parking spaces free of charge until September.

David Belliard, president of the environmental group and candidate for mayor of Paris, wanted these extension options to be subject to "consultation of residents", mentioning in particular the risks of noise pollution.

Aid for very small businesses

The town hall also offers six months' rent to Very Small Businesses and associations occupying a local apartment for landlords of the City of Paris (i.e. an envelope of 75 million euros) and 6 months of fees and charges (road rights, terrace, display, non-household waste charge, taxi charge), i.e. 40 million euros.

Some 6 million additional funds are released to help invest in businesses, craftspeople, cultural businesses, and young innovative businesses. An envelope of 5 million euros is planned to help revive the tourism sector that has come to a halt with the coronavirus crisis.

The voluntary sector helped

The City also announced the creation of a fund of 10 million euros for associations and 4 million will be paid to actors in the social and solidarity economy sector. Finally, the cultural sector, also hard hit by the health crisis, will receive 15 million euros.

Too little in the eyes of the right. The mayor (LR) of the seventh and candidate for mayor of Paris Rachida Dati has embarrassed an economic recovery plan which she considers insufficient citing sectors which she believes have been forgotten such as liberal doctors or even events.

The right abstains

According to the mayor of the seventh "the margins of maneuver cut" throughout the previous mandate of Anne Hidalgo would leave today little opportunity for action for the municipal team. The LRI group therefore preferred to abstain from this recovery plan just like the PPCI group (right-hand macronists) whose wish to request an investigation into the management of Ehpad by the General Inspectorate of Services was rejected.

If this request was not accepted by Anne Hidalgo's team, other ideas put forward by the groups sitting on the Paris Council were taken up in a wish presented by the executive. Out of 39 points on this list of intentions, a dozen mainly fall under the question of the government (on the opening of green spaces, free masks, or even the moratorium on AP-HP restructuring).

Social housing for nursing staff

But the City also undertakes to work on files for which it is responsible: the allocation of social housing to nursing staff, the request to the Vélib 'union to study advantageous rates or even free service during the State health emergency, initiate joint work with the municipalities of Ile-de-France to create coworking spaces, the extension of financial food aid to the most precarious families beyond June, the organization getting back in the saddle with associations of cyclists to support Parisians who are getting back on their bikes, or even implementing environmental criteria when granting economic aid to businesses.