The Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture has launched a deficiency procedure against the municipality, which has only reached 38% of the objectives for the construction of low-cost housing over the period 2020-2022.
“I’ve been waiting for about seven years…” : in Marseille, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, Sonia, 32, is waiting for social housing and she can’t even remember the exact date of her first request. “The deadlines are very, very long, she sighs. It’s a bit like everyone has their chance and I’ve never had social housing.”
“It’s always the same music and… we wait”
Same situation for Djamel, single, who works in catering and renews his request for housing every year.“I received the paper which tells me that my file has been received and blablabla…, he explains. It’s always the same music and… we wait.” In the meantime, therefore, Djamel pays 300 euros each month for a room of nine square meters and collective toilets.
“Social housing would be the best, but unfortunately there is no way…”
In total, in Marseille, 45,000 people are waiting for housing today, compared to 39,000 in 2019. In the meantime, the municipality has only achieved 38% of its objectives, which were the construction of around 7 600 social rental units.
Different responsibilities
The prefecture has therefore launched a deficiency procedure against the municipality for not having fulfilled its commitments between 2020 and 2022. “It’s not at all unusual, points out Francis Vernède, director of the Abbé-Pierre Foundation in the Paca region. For a city like Marseille, it can turn into a fine, ie compensation to be paid to state services in particular. Or, a more extreme possibility, that building permits are no longer managed directly by the city of Marseille, but by the services of the prefecture.
But according to this specialist in housing issues, the responsibilities are in fact shared, between a municipality faced with a situation that does not date from today and a State which has been disengaging for several years.
“The city must issue more building permits so that there is more production. That is a certainty. At the same time, today, housing assistance has dropped drastically since 2010. And that too, that is problematic…”
Francis Vernedeat franceinfo
“The drop represents 15 billion euros per year nationally: it’s huge! deplores Francis Vernède. We cannot at the same time finance less social housing and come to point out the fact that there are not enough of them coming out of the ground!” Nevertheless, the announcement of a procedure is a task within the municipal majority, a left-wing coalition which makes housing its priority. Asked, the town hall of Marseille did not wish to react for the moment.