Fires in France: the National Rally pleads for the abolition of Ademe and the OFB

“We are for the elimination of all agencies which cost much more than what they bring in, even in terms of efficiency”, advocates Thursday August 20 on franceinfo Franck Allisio, National Rally (RN) deputy for Bouches-du-Rhône, while France continues to burn. The fire in Gironde, in the north of the Arcachon basin, is the largest fire recorded in the country since 1949, with 42,000 hectares burned.

As the presidential election approached, the far-right party had already announced that it wanted to make savings, in particular by abolishing the environment agency (Ademe) and the biodiversity office (OFB). “We are in favor of these missions being carried out by the departments, by the municipalities”, by the communities, insists the elected RN. “Prevention is already done by volunteers, volunteers who are committed and who are managed by the region.” “All these agencies combined, it’s 80 billion. Of these 80 billion, we are proposing to make a saving of 8 billion,” he adds.

“Ademe is one of the agencies that must make significant savings, or even be eliminated,” assumes the deputy. “Ademe is expensive,” continues Franck Allisio. “This money can be redistributed directly without going through the agency.” The ecological transition agency is leading numerous public policies to move away from fossil fuels to lead France towards carbon neutrality.

Ademe costs 1.3 billion euros in budget, 90% of which is given in aid or subsidies to communities, businesses and individuals. In Marseille, for example, it helps finance the depollution of creeks and the Thassalia marine geothermal power plant. Furthermore, the National Rally deputy Matthias Renault tabled amendments to remove or empty the OFB of its powers, which embodies, according to the RN deputy for the Somme, "a bureaucratic and punitive drift of ecological policy which harasses farmers with absurd and humiliating controls".

Last year, at the National Assembly, the RN asked for "700 million more for the Sdis [the departmental fire and rescue services], therefore almost doubling the budget", recalls Franck Allisio.