“It’s abandoning the most precarious households”: the government is canceling several energy renovation programs and triggering the anger of players in the sector

After the blow of the plane, the blow of the club. The government has decided to put an end to several energy renovation programs which support local authorities and the most precarious households, franceinfo learned from the structures concerned and the Ministry of Energy, Thursday October 29, confirming information from the Politico website. At the beginning of September, the envelope announced in the middle of a heatwave to accelerate the thermal renovation of schools had already been cut by 40 million euros.

At least four programs will not be renewed at the end of the year. These are Toits d'abord, which houses precarious people and produces energy-efficient housing, Territoires zero energy exclusion, which supports low-income households in renovating their homes and finally Tims and Slime, which develop simple and accessible modes of travel, and support communities to fight against energy poverty.

The Action by local authorities for energy efficiency (Actee) system, which provides experts to develop renovation projects for public buildings, will be extended by a few months, until mid-2027, specifies the Ministry of Energy to franceinfo. “It’s a completely incomprehensible decision,” Guillaume Perrin, director of Actee, reacted to franceinfo on Thursday. “It’s a program that has proven itself,” he assures, with more than 6,000 schools supported in adapting to climate change since its creation in 2019.

“It’s a very bad signal”

At his side, Dominique Ramard, mayor of the small town of Saint-Juvat, in Côtes-d'Armor, says he is "disappointed". "We don't understand. The government's arguments are completely indefensible. We need Actee's advice," he explains, who had access to experts from this program to launch the thermal renovation of public buildings in his municipality. “It’s a very bad signal to local elected officials,” adds Danielle Mametz, mayor of Boëseghem, in the North.

“We are not equipped in engineering to choose the energy works that will be the most efficient. Actee is a tool to support good decision-making, essential for adaptation to climate change.”

Danielle Mametz, mayor of Boëseghem, in the North

The same incomprehension reigns at Cler, a network which has supported more than 300,000 people with the Tims and Slime programs towards mobility solutions adapted to their needs and energy renovation work. “Stopping funding means abandoning the most precarious households, and confirming that this government's vision of environmental public policy will be against the working classes, instead of with and for them,” assures the network in a press release sent to franceinfo.

“In no case a logic of budget cuts”, according to the government

For its part, the Ministry of Energy affirms that this decision corresponds to a desire to “refocus” energy savings certificates on electrification, “in line with the imperative of energy sovereignty”. Other programs must therefore see the light of day as part of France's electrification plan, such as social leasing of electric cars and heat pumps. “It is therefore in no way a question of budget cuts or the search for savings but rather a choice of prioritization of available means towards the most effective measures,” continues the ministry. Contacted by franceinfo, the Ministry of Ecological Transition declined to comment.