“A diversion” but not “a vital necessity”, denounces the mayor of Issoudun

“We have the feeling that this is a diversion and not a vital necessity at the moment”, denounced Friday April 21 on franceinfo André Laignel, PS mayor of Issoudun (Indre) and vice-president of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), while Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne pledged to halve d here in the summer the deadlines for obtaining an identity card or a passport, during a trip to Buzançais (Indre) on Friday.

>> Follow the live: Elisabeth Borne wants to halve the waiting time for identity documents

André Laignel points to a new “load transfer to communities” in a context wherethe debate on pensions is not over” and while “Inflation is hurting families, health is in total decline, mobility is in most cases down”. The mayor of Issoudun regrets as well as Elisabeth Borne “did not come to Indre by train”. “She could have seen the state of dilapidation of the Paris-Orléans-Limoges-Toulouse line which is a priority for regional planning”. The announcements of the head of government give “the feeling” to André Laignel that “It all looks like a stampede more than a rebound on the pitch.”

Lack of staff

The vice-president of the Association of Mayors of France believes that theEstate “ask for more” and “the compensation does not meet the needs in terms of personnel”. He considers that the dematerialization of procedures for public services is “an ersatz and the response to the disengagement of theEtat”. If the France Service counters set up in local authorities are “useful”it is in particular “because for years, state services have been closed. Communities are asked to accommodate devices that are spare wheels for the failure of theEtat”. “Dehumanization is not a policy of the future”adds André Laignel.