A 60% reduction in the price of tolls on two-thirds of the motorway network?
Hard to believe, at the time of a new rise in prices, with a new jump of 4.75% from February 1, this track was indeed suggested by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), revealed the
Canard enchaîné
, this Wednesday.
In February 2021, the administration proposed to significantly reduce the rates charged by motorway concession companies in this way to offset their "
surplus profits
".
These conclusions were given at the time to the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, visibly reluctant to share them with the general public, according to our colleagues.
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Before coming to the recommendations, the civil servants of Bercy drew up a report without appeal in the report quoted by the satirical newspaper.
Motorway concession companies enjoy "
far higher than expected profitability
", they wrote, "
which goes against the principle of reasonable remuneration
".
During the privatization of the motorways in 2006, the State and the concessionaires had established a target profitability of around 7.67%.
A level that would be largely exceeded today.
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Incidentally, the IGF, whose mission is to ensure the proper management of public finances, was surprised at the lack of importance that the government gives to the revenues generated by the motorway companies.
"This lack of involvement is surprising, while motorway concessions affect about 11 billion euros per year in tolls
," noted senior officials.
And to enjoin:
"the Ministry of Economy and Finance must be more involved in all negotiations related to concessions
".
Measures deemed inapplicable
To bring the motorway concession companies back into the nails, the IGF proposed three measures.
The first was therefore based on a 60% reduction in toll rates, and this “
from 2022
”, specified the report of February 2021. Another option put forward consisted in imposing an “
early end
” of concessions in 2026, that is i.e. ten years earlier than expected.
Last solution envisaged: to puncture up to 63% of the gross operating surplus of companies which had made "
surplus profits
" by the end of their concession.
The finance inspectors explained, however, that only the early end of the concessions was "
legally possible
", the other two options being mentioned by way of illustration.
More than four years after the demonstrations of the "
yellow vests
", the cost of motorway tolls remains an explosive subject.
At the time, in 2018, the demonstrators were already ardently denouncing the soaring prices of these facilities, and had even physically attacked certain tolls.
Since then, a report from the Senate and a summary from the Court of Auditors have returned to the subject: the first considered "
probable that the State could have better valued this heritage of the Nation
", while the second considered that the State was often in a "
weak position
" during negotiations with dealers.
The subject also returned to the debate during the 2022 presidential campaign.
Contrary to the IGF, the Ministry of Transport refutes the over-profitability of certain motorway concessions.
At Bercy, however, it is conceded that some concessions may exceed the target of 7.67%.
Be that as it may, the three measures are considered completely inapplicable in view of the contracts that have been signed with the companies.
The Ministry of the Economy, however, warns that it will be intractable when it comes to renegotiating these contracts, precisely in the light of this report.
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Bruno Le Maire's entourage also recalls that it was the minister himself who commissioned this work from the IGF when the government decided to raise the tax on land use planning which applies precisely to companies highway concessionaires.
"
When you want to put realities under the carpet, you don't order a report on the subject
", stings a close friend of Bruno Le Maire.