we must “get away from this infantilizing vision of communities”, declares the president of the Association of Mayors of France

David Lisnard suggests that “residents, locally, can decide on the tax policy of their municipality”.

It’s necessary “get out of this infantilizing vision of communities”, declares David Lisnard, LR mayor of Cannes and president of the Association of Mayors of France, on franceinfo Tuesday November 21. On the budgetary level, “we did not ask to be dependent on the State”, he assures.

For David Lisnard, this state of dependence was put in place gradually, over the years and the measures taken. Among these measures, “the professional tax at the time of Nicolas Sarkozy”, in reference to the elimination of this tax in 2010, replaced by the territorial economic contribution (CET). Another example, “the endowments under François Hollande”, in reference to the decline in these allocations under the mandate of the former president. David Lisnard also mentions the housing tax, abolished by Emmanuel Macron for main residences since January 1, 2023 and the CVAE (contribution on the added value of businesses) abolished in 2024. So many measures for the president of the AMF “which deprived communities, particularly town halls, of fiscal leverage and made us dependent on the State.”

The mayor of Cannes draws a bitter assessment of the situation in France, with “too much taxation and too many charges”, he regrets. He claims that the “tax recentralization system is to the detriment of taxpayers”. For him, the abolition of the housing tax, “was perlimpinpin powder” since he “We have to pay the 23 billion euros financed by this tax” for “schools, municipal police, public lighting, school canteens…”

These decisions did not have the desired effect for David Lisnard who states: “The more the State has announced cuts to local taxes, the more in reality we have been penalized as taxpayers. This year, France is breaking its record for compulsory deductions – taxes and charges – so the tax is more sneaky . We find it for example in VAT.”

“Responsibility does not exist without freedom”

Concerning the overall operating grant (DGF) which constitutes the main operating grant from the State to local authorities and which is set each year by the finance law, David Lisnard believes that there is a “embezzlement of local money”. He notes that elected officials are increasingly “dependents” of these endowments. He therefore wants the State to keep its promises: “The word was that it would follow inflation. We are only asking the State to respect its word”. For the president of the AMF, “when you have inflation at 7%, 8% or 9% and the endowment changes by 1.2%, we cannot say that ‘it’s historic’ and that it’s increasing. The reality is that the decline in constant euros is stronger than ever.”

For David Lisnard, the situation must change: “We have removed responsibility locally […] Efficiency is responsibility and responsibility does not exist without freedom”. He says he wants “get out of this infantilizing vision of communities” and believes he was put “on the patient’s drip”. “Of course there are poorly managed municipalitieshe continues, but it is not because there are poorly managed municipalities that they should all be made dependent on the State.”. Among the solutions, it notably offers “so that it works better and that in the end there is more responsibility and performance”, that “residents, locally, can decide on the tax policy of their municipality”.