“I AM NOT COMING TO MAKE BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS”PM BORNE STATED ADDRESSING 18 REGIONS

USPA NEWS - The French PM Elisabeth Borne payed a visit to Saint Malo’s Regions National Convention, for the closing ceremony, on 28th September, as the President of the 18 Regions, 15 Metropolitan Regions + 5 Overseas Territories Regions). Prior to her Remarks he three speeches apart from that of PM Elisabeth Borne, aligned themselves with the same motto “More Active Autonomy to the Regions” chanted as an “outstretched hand” to the government…. "a hand that is caressing and non-sovereignist" says Carole Delga, who thus launched the Apple of Saint Malo, after the Marseille Appeal in 2018 and the Fort de France Appeal (Martinique, Overseas Territory). While on the same day, the President of the French Republic was in the process of granting “Autonomy to Corsica” from Ajaccio….requested for a long time by the President of the Region of Corsica, Gilles Simeoni, independentist.

The French PM barely convinced her audience, essentially made up of elected officials from local authorities, instead waiting for announcements of granting more autonomy to the regions, judging by the little applause that was addressed to it... From her first spoken sentences, the head of government announces that she has no further announcements to make, translating that her speech does not augur any change. Indeed, PM Elisabeth Borne, who does not have a parliamentary majority, is in a position of political fragility (The Right of the Les Republicans Party won the senatorial elections, with only half of the presidential majority, re-elected...Yet, the president of the Regions and the Occitanie region, had implored "Let's start by working before making announcements", then rectifying a controversy from President Macron, during his television interview of September 24 indicating "that a quarter" of the tax on fuels, “these are the regions”. “If he wants to give us 25%, don’t hesitate!”, replied Carole Delga as a corrective to the words of the Head of State.

FRENCH REPUBLICANS TOOK IT ALL S THEY GOT 145/170 SENATORS RE ELECTED Indeed, the 170 senators, i.e. half of the upper house made up of 348 senators, renewed their seats on September 24, by an indirect vote (162, 000 major voters with a massive success of the Right of the Republican party, the 1st force with, 145 seats out of 170, followed by 64 left-wing socialist senators and a failure for the presidential party which did not succeed in renewing the 24 senators, put to the vote (only 12 were re-elected), and the highlight of the election of 3 senators by the RN (National Rally) party of Marine le Pen. The big surprise being that the only member of the government candidate, Sonia Backes, minister for citizenship, was beaten in Caledonia (Overseas Territory), facing an independentist Robert Xowie , during the senatorial elections of September 24. Four days later, she presented her letter of resignation accepted by the head of government. The same goes for Julien Bargeton, senator of the majority in Paris, who was defeated...

We publish the full text of the Speech by Ms. Elisabeth Borne, Prime Minister, as it was delivered, Saint-Malo Thursday September 28, 2023

Only the delivery is authentic.

“Mr. President of the Senate, dear Gerard Larcher,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Ministers, Mr. Prefect, Madam President, dear Carole Delga,
Ladies and gentlemen, presidents of metropolitan and overseas regions,
Mr Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen elected officials, Ladies and Gentlemen,

A year ago, in front of you, I made a commitment: always to dialogue, always to build common solutions. I have forged this conviction in the effectiveness of dialogue throughout my career, as regional prefect, as business leader, as minister and Prime Minister.

More than ever, it is together, State and communities, that we can achieve full employment, succeed in the ecological transition, and improve our public services.

It is together, in trust, dear Carole, that we will meet the expectations of our fellow citizens. Ladies and gentlemen, since last year, this dialogue, this desire to build together has been the common thread of our common action.

“I AM NOT COMING TO MAKE BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS”, PM ELISABETH BORNE STATED, AS SHE INTRODUCED HER REMARKS

“I am not coming to make big announcements, to explain to you how to manage your public policies. I come to reaffirm this commitment, made last year, to move forward, to be in action. This commitment is embodied in a working method around 3 principles. The first is consultation. We exchange a lot, dear Carole, and with each and every one of you, ladies and gentlemen, regional presidents. This dense and continuous dialogue produces results. I am thinking, for example, of the adaptation of ZNA “zero net artificialization”, which we would not have been able to achieve without the consultations led by Minister (Of Ecology) Christophe Bechu.

This collective of the Regions of France is central, it is one of the pillars of public action. I hope that these exchanges will continue, and I will continue to ensure good association between the regions and, more broadly, other local authorities. Thanks to our consultations, we now have a real shared work program. It was a commitment from the Government, and with Minister Dominique Faure, we kept it: the ambition of the Territorial Agenda is precisely to provide perspectives for co-constructing our public policies. The subjects are numerous: ecological transition, mobility, attractiveness, full employment, equal opportunities. Faced with these challenges, we must all move in the same direction, with optimism, but also with lucidity.

I know, questions of organization, scope and skills raise questions. We all want clearer responsibilities and more effective public action. And this is also the meaning of the Senate report, Mr. President.

I know you share this ambition. I also know that you do not want to upset institutional boundaries or create new divisions. So I want to say it clearly: any development will happen with you. My second principle is trust, which involves respecting reciprocal commitments. Dear Carole Delga, I thank you for the quality of our discussions throughout the year, and for the relationship of trust that we have built. I hear your expectations regarding the financial perspectives of the regions.

I know you share this ambition. I also know that you do not want to upset institutional boundaries or create new divisions. So I want to say it clearly: any development will happen with you. My second principle is trust, which involves respecting reciprocal commitments. Dear Carole Delga, I thank you for the quality of our discussions throughout the year, and for the relationship of trust that we have built. I hear your expectations regarding the financial perspectives of the regions.

We must give you visibility, we must support more local investment and the projects of elected officials. This is what we are doing from 2024, with the FCTVA extended to expenses relating to land development, with the Green Fund made sustainable and equipped with additional resources. However, we must think together about certain subjects, and I am thinking in particular of the question of transport financing which you wish to strengthen, but also of the issues of intermodality, which you mentioned. Work has already begun to determine the changes to be implemented. I hope that they will continue in the coming year, by mobilizing all the ministers concerned. Finally, thanks to the European Union, we have funds for communities, in particular for the regions. The partnership agreement with the European Commission provides France with more than 18 billion euros over the period 2021-2027. The mobilization of these funds is crucial to finance the infrastructure and projects in your territories.

These principles are necessarily general, because they apply to all territories. But I want to tell you that I am fully aware, and this is the third principle of my Government's action, that we must take into account the specificities of each region..

Our will is simple, it comes from common sense: different responses to different situations. In Brittany for example, dear Loig Chesnais-Girard, I know the specific tensions over housing.

However, I also know the ability of Breton elected officials to work together, to respond coherently to the challenges of your territory. And I am aware, Mr. President of the Senate, that the situation also calls for national responses. We are working on it this very afternoon, with the ministers concerned, to propose as quickly as possible to the various stakeholders and to Parliament, responses commensurate with the situation. But subject by subject, we must give you room to maneuver. Allow you to innovate. In this context, several experiments have already been launched. I am thinking in particular of our commitment to ecological transition in your region Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, dear Renaud. And I specify that this is the request that I made to the prefects, at the start of the school year, after discussions with local elected officials: to raise expectations in terms of experimentation, deconcentration, differentiation, exemptions. So don’t hesitate to ask your prefects about your proposals.

I KNOW THE SPECIFI TENSIOSN OVER HOUSUNG IN BRITTANY, PM ELISABETH BORNE RECOGNISES
"These principles are necessarily general, because they apply to all territories. But I want to tell you that I am fully aware, and this is the third principle of my Government's action, that we must take into account the specificities of each region."


"Our will is simple, it comes from common sense: different responses to different situations. In Brittany for example, dear Loig Chnesnais-Girard, I know the specific tensions over housing. But I also know the ability of Breton elected officials to work together, to respond coherently to the challenges of your territory. And I am aware, Mr. President of the Senate, that the situation also calls for national responses. We are working on it this very afternoon, with the ministers concerned, to propose as quickly as possible to the various stakeholders and to Parliament, responses commensurate with the situation. But subject by subject, we must give you room to maneuver. Allow you to innovate. In this context, several experiments have already been launched.

I am thinking in particular of our commitment to ecological transition in your region Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, dear Renaud. And I specify that this is the request that I made to the prefects, at the start of the school year, after discussions with local elected officials: to raise expectations in terms of experimentation, deconcentration, differentiation, exemptions. So don’t hesitate to ask your prefects about your proposals, PM Borne highlighted 

“THIS DIFFERENTIATION NATURALLY APPLIES TO OVERSEAS TERRITORIES”, EXPLAINS PM BORNE

“This differentiation naturally applies to overseas territories. This summer I chaired an interministerial committee for Overseas Territories, the first in 4 years. It made it possible to make strong commitments, particularly against the high cost of living, or for overseas youth. The application of each of our measures will be the subject of close dialogue with the communities. I am thinking in particular of the evolution of dock dues. Ladies and gentlemen, Consultation, trust, differentiation: it is on these principles that I wish to continue to build our relationship so that we can build solutions together for our country. ” PM Borne explained.

“ONE OF MY GOVERNMENT’S PRIORITY IS FULL EMPLOYMENT”, PM BORNE STATED
Elisabeth Borne, adds, “For the coming months, one of the priorities of my Government is full employment. We will achieve this together, by successfully reforming France Travail. Today, despite a difficult environment, France is obtaining good economic results, better than those of our European neighbors: you said it dear Carole, growth is holding up, our attractiveness is undeniable. Our economy has created 2 million jobs in six years and unemployment is at its lowest level in 40 years. The structural reforms that we have carried out, in particular the reform of unemployment insurance and that of pensions, have made it possible to generate tens of billions of euros in savings. Now, thanks to these advances, to the talents of our entrepreneurs and our employees, our horizon is full employment. ”, PM Elisabeth Borne, stated

She continues “I am particularly keen on this objective because it is thanks to work that everyone can choose their life, and escape from the destinies mapped out by their talent and their efforts. I add that full employment, which must go hand in hand with good employment, and this is the meaning of the social conference that I will launch on October 16, is the guarantee of sustainable purchasing power. And to achieve full employment, we want to continue to strengthen the link between training and employment, as the PM, Borne, tend to explain"

The French PM added : "This is what we did with apprenticeships, and today our country has nearly 900,000 apprentices, 3 times more than 5 years ago. We are taking up this logic with the reform of the vocational high school. And of course, we will need the regions on the crucial issue of training. We also want increased support for those who are furthest from employment, as we did with the youth employment contract. This is the whole meaning of the France Travail reform. France Travail is the desire to better coordinate our actions, while preserving the essential role of the regions. And in this sense I welcome the partnerships established since the start of the experiments, with already 6 regions committed to them. And I have no doubt that territory by territory, we will find the right solutions."

“WE AIM 100,000 INDUSTRIAL NEW JOBS, PM BORNE HOPED
She stressed on the importance of the professionnel fellowships “Finally, I would like to raise the subject of professional training, essential so that people far from employment can escape precariousness and find lasting quality employment. With you, we will extend regional skills investment pacts. As I said, the rule is financial visibility: through these pacts, we are committed to the next 4 years. In total, we will invest 3.9 billion euros by 2027. In a period of falling unemployment, this is a considerable commitment, which we will now roll out region by region.”

PM Elisabeth Borne, continues “Ladies and gentlemen, we will not be able to achieve this objective of full employment without the return of a strong industry to our country. I know that this objective is widely shared by the Regions of France. I count on your commitment! Together, we have reversed the trend and industrial employment is returning. Since 2017, we have recorded 300 net factory creations, 100,000 additional industrial jobs and we continue to attract investors. Industrial jobs are often better paid jobs than in other sectors: it is this industry that we want in all our territories. Ladies and gentlemen, industry did not return to France by chance. It is the result of structural reforms which have transformed our economy and improved our competitiveness. Today, French territories each have specific assets. I am thinking, for example, of metallurgy in Burgundy Franche Comte, dear Marie-Guite, in Le Creusot, of the hydrogen sector in Occitanie, dear Carole, or in Pays de la Loire, dear Christelle. This year again, for the fourth time, we are the leading host country for foreign investments.”

“12 + 3 OEVRSEAS REGIOS ENTERED NINTO COTRACTS WITH THE SATE.”, PM BORNE CONFIRMS
We must, together, pursue this policy attractiveness policy: finding available land suitable for industry, guaranteeing access to clean energy at a competitive price, decarbonizing industry. Together, we are carrying the Green Industry bill. Together, we are deploying the France 2030 plan, to accelerate the transformation of key sectors of our economy through innovation. In less than two years, more than 20 billion euros have been committed for the benefit of all territories, urban and rural, metropolitan and overseas. The method is the same: construct differentiated responses. And I want to salute the commitment of the Regions to the territorial aspect of this plan: 12 metropolitan regions and 3 overseas territories have already entered into contracts with the State.

As I said, reindustrialization should allow us to accelerate the ecological transition. This is an important lever, but our ecological planning goes further. It is a global plan to meet our emissions reduction targets, restore biodiversity, adapt our country to climate change, and protect the health of our fellow citizens, the PM continued" 

THE TERRITORIALIZATION OF ECOLOGICAL PLANNING AFTER A NATIONAL PLAN

The PM recalled how France is reaching out a year rater the point of implementing the ecological plan, via the territoires, "After a first year of developing the Plan on a national scale, we are starting a second phase: the implementation and concrete deployment of our measures, with the territorialization of ecological planning, supported by the Minister of Ecological Transition and of Territorial Cohesion, Christophe Bechu. And I want this planning to be the result of work shared between the State and the territories. We know that actions from above, imposed from Paris, do not work. To be effective, we must bring together national work and feedback from territories. In this perspective, and because the regions are the leaders in territorial planning, the level for strategic reflection and planning, I am launching today the “territorial COPs”. They will be co-hosted by regional presidents and regional prefects.”

She adds "And I hear your questions, but we will necessarily agree, dear Carole, because it is together, State and regions, that we will decide on the form, sequences, method and modalities of debate, in the respect for regional coherence and the skills of each community. These COPs must enable collective awareness of the steps to be taken, to succeed in the ecological transition, at all levels. Of course, we are not starting from zero: many bodies and projects already exist. But precisely, the approach is based on what already exists, and does not duplicate structures or initiatives. Our objective is to arrive at an action plan shared with everyone, by "next summer, around an unavoidable ambition: achieving our objectives of reducing emissions, deploying renewable energies, or even preserving biodiversity. I know I can count on you, particularly in the very crucial area of mobility.

A subject that you know well, dear Franck Leroy. You have a central role to play, as mobility organizing authorities. You know my personal attachment to this role which was enshrined in the mobility orientation law that I supported. Last year, we launched together the work of revising the mobility components of the State-region plan contracts. The negotiation mandates were sent last June, based on the report of the Infrastructure Orientation Council. These mandates reflect our ambition: to prepare our country for the major challenge of transport decarbonization. In total, 8.6 billion euros have been put on the table by the State, with an unprecedented effort on carbon-free mobility, in particular rail infrastructure, the development of metropolitan express services, collective transport and the bike. I know that negotiations are underway and that you communicate regularly with your regional prefects, as well as with Minister Christophe Bechu, and Minister Delegate (Of Ttrasport) Clement Beaune”.

Finally PM. Borne hopes that “The negotiations can be concluded by the end of the year. This will be a decisive milestone in the implementation of the “New Rail Deal”, which you called for and which I announced at the start of this year. year. You see, the challenges are numerous. And to see our collective successes, to identify the obstacles to be removed, the simplifications to be made, I hope that we will take stock of progress in three months, with all the presidents region. * Ladies and Gentlemen, I have outlined the broad outlines of our common action, in the service of our compatriots. On full employment, reindustrialization or ecological transition, we know how to talk to each other, work together, and lead to many important projects. Beyond our political labels, and partisan disagreements, we act in the service of the general interest. Ladies and Gentlemen, regional presidents, we are committed, differently, each to our responsibilities. But we We are all at the service of the French, and I know that we want to act, to offer solutions to our fellow citizens. This is what brings us together, this is what should push us to build and move forward together, again this year. Long live the Republic ! Long live France !" Source: Cabinet of French PM, Our correspondent, on site, excluded from the pool, in a discriminative fashion…