Paris is pleased with its good rating. The left-wing elected officials of the Paris town hall highlighted on Wednesday the
“best possible rating for a community”
awarded by the Moody's rating agency, which rewards the
“very solid governance and management”
of the capital, including the debt is regularly targeted by the opposition.
Moody's, which rated Paris for the first time, gave it an Aa2 rating on Friday with a
"stable"
outlook , based in particular on
"the importance and wealth of its economy"
, which represents around 10% of GDP. French, which provides it with
“a very solid tax base”
. The debt, which amounts to eight billion euros, is described as
“growing”
but
“sustainable”
, with 9.2 billion expected in 2026. Are budgetary practices considered
“prudent”
and the tax rate
“much below average”
.
A debt
“in the service of ecological transformation”
The city's first deputy Emmanuel Grégoire (PS) took advantage of this rating to condemn
"the remarks regularly made by the oppositions"
which, according to him, resemble
"fake news"
, such as the idea that the city,
"in bankruptcy”
, should be
“put under guardianship”
. The Parisian debt
“is used to finance our investments in the service of ecological transformation and housing
,” he recalled.
“If we had not invested massively in housing, there would still be entire, totally unsanitary neighborhoods in the 18th
,” added Éric Lejoindre, mayor of this district.
“This note confirms what Fitch was able to say in December (...) or Standard & Poor's in October
,” said Paul Simondon, finance assistant, explaining that the accounts show an operating surplus
“of approximately 760 million euros in 2023”
, while the government itself is
“in dire straits”
after the announcement of a slippage in the public deficit. In November 2022 Gabriel Attal, then Minister of Public Accounts, likened the
city's derogatory but legal
“capitalized rent” system to a fraudulent
“Ponzi”
system . PS mayor Anne Hidalgo had filed a complaint for defamation.
“The fact that the city is well managed should not even be a subject
,” stressed Paul Simondon. Questioned by AFP, LR advisor Aurélien Véron considered
the growth of the debt
“worrying”
“with borrowings close to a billion euros in 2024, 2025 and also in 2026”
, which according to him promises Parisians
“more very sharp increases in taxation in the absence of budgetary rigor in the years to come
.