“If it does not go through Agen, we would no longer understand anything” (G.Méric)
“If the LGV between Toulouse and Bordeaux does not pass through Agen, we would not understand anything!“, did not hesitate to declare Georges Méric, the socialist president of the Haute-Garonne departmental council, during his wishes to the press on Wednesday January 26. This position taken by the local elected official follows an interview with the Premier Minister Minister, Jean Castex, granted to the Petit Bleu d’Agen, Friday, January 21. In this interview, the head of government threatens to remove Agen station from the route of this future infrastructure.
“If there is no financial participation, well there will be no station, so no stop for this line in Agen!”, Jean Castex clearly stated during this exchange with the local media. .
These statements follow the choice of the Lot-et-Garonne departmental council not to participate in the financing of the future LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse, judging their investment capacities too limited for future years. Around 120 million euros have been requested from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine community. Nevertheless, the equation promises to be complex because the community of municipalities of Agen voted favorably for the financing of the project. Nevertheless, on the side of the prefecture of Toulouse-Occitanie, whose prefect is the coordinator of the financing of this LGV between the Pink City and Bordeaux, this threat of a non-stop in Agen has been brandished behind the scenes since September already.
Moreover, while some communities in Occitania regret this lack of territorial solidarity to their reason, Georges Méric refuses to take a position. “The Lot-et-Garonne does not want to finance the LGV Toulouse-Bordeaux, unanimously it seems to me. It’s a democratic decision that I don’t have to comment on.“, launches the socialist president recently re-elected for a second term at the head of the departmental council.
Second funder ahead of Toulouse Métropole
To understand the importance of this posture of the Lot-et-Garonne departmental council, we must remember that for this LGV between Toulouse and Bordeaux attributed to nearly 11 billion euros, the government asked that 40% of its financing be provided by the local authorities of Occitania and New Aquitaine (to which must be added the 40% of the State and 20% of Europe). However, this participation will be reduced in the future through the creation of a special tax on equipment voted very recently by the National Assembly.
“I regret that for the financing of the LGV Toulouse-Bordeaux the State intervenes only up to 40% whereas it is a national development. It should be 100% (…) Moreover, out of 40 years, we are going to pay 110 million euros more than Toulouse Métropole (616.7 million against 506.2 after tax, editor’s note). , but the essential is there, the departmental council of Haute-Garonne finances the LGV”, plague the socialist.
With the regional council of Occitanie as the “leader” as the first financier, this region had no trouble finding an agreement to share their share of the financing. In other words, the opposite of New Aquitaine, whereas in the past the former Midi-Pyrénées region had participated in the financing of the LGV Bordeaux-Tours section on the condition of an extension to Toulouse in the long term.
A basic income for young people on track
On the occasion of his ceremony of wishes to the press, there was also a question of solidarity under the social aspect with the future experimentation of the basic income for young people aged 18 to 24 living in Haute-Garonne. After the approval of the deliberation on December 14 to initiate the project, “we have received thousands of positive responses from young people who will want to test the device“, namely Arnaud Simion, the vice-president of the Haute-Garonne departmental council, in charge of local social action, alongside Georges Méric during this press conference.
“Registration closes on February 14. Towards the end of February, we will draw lots to form two groups of 1,000 people, with one who will benefit from the basic income and another where it is not. not the case in order to be able to compare the effects of this measure. We will thus make the first payment on April 1, 2022”, specified the vice-president of the department in charge of this symbolic file.
Arnaud Simion, alongside Georges Méric, on Wednesday January 26, gave an update on the basic income project for young people in Haute-Garonne (Credits: Rémi Benoit).
To carry out this study, the departmental council has been working for several months with six researchers from the interdisciplinary laboratory Solidarités, Sociétés et Territoires (LISST) of the Jean-Jaurès University of Toulouse. At the same time, the community has just reached an agreement to join the approach of the Bernard Maris chair at Sciences Po Toulouse. Founded in 2018, this chair created in tribute to the Toulouse economist who lost his life in the attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper works in particular on “the economy differently.
