Two years after the start of the pandemic, the Court of Auditors is again proposing a “global assessment of lessons” to be learned from the French management of the health crisis. In his Annual Report published on Wednesday February 16, 2022, it alerts in particular on the need for a “unprecedented effort” in the coming years to control public spending and straighten the accounts of France. Because the public debt should thus reach 560 billion euros between the end of 2019 and the end of 2022, thus weighing around 113% of GDP. To avoid reading 702 pages of the report, franceinfo returns to the nine main criticisms of the magistrates.
On nursing homes
Covid-19 has brought to light the “structural weaknesses” accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad), with a heavy human toll and the need for reform that the government has “too long postponed”, says the Court of Auditors. The report points in particular to a shortage of nursing staff and calls for “insert” nursing homes “in a larger functional whole, either by backing up with a health establishment, or by belonging to a group, or even by pooling certain functions”. This recommendation resonates with revelations of the investigation book The Gravediggers. Since its publication, several actions are underway against the Orpea group.
On the “One young person, one solution” plan
Launched in July 2020, the plan “One youth, one solution” brought together “multiple devices” (accompaniment, hiring aid, subsidized contracts, etc.) to deal with “to the prospect of entering the labor market” of 750,000 young people leaving the school system “in an economic context degraded by the health crisis”. According to the Court of Auditors, the total amount of the plan “could be around 10 billion euros”. Faced with the potential consequences of the crisis on youth employment, “an intervention by the public authorities was legitimate, but it was sometimes ill-proportioned”judge the Sages del a rue Cambon, who add that “its success is to be put into perspective”.
On student support
Student support systems during the health crisis have been “late” and “disappointing”while the pandemic “deeply upset” their daily. According to the Court of Auditors, it will be a question in the future of “better take into account the risks related to the health of students” and “put in place reliable and shared indicators of student precariousness”. According to an Inserm study published in November, 36.6% of students surveyed said they had had depressive symptoms, compared to 20.1% of non-students.
On aid to ski resorts
Financial support “massive and unconditional” to mid-mountain ski resorts during the Covid-19 crisis “paradoxically risk” to delay their transition to an economic model adapted to global warming, regrets the Court of Auditors. The magistrates analyzed the case of two resorts in New Aquitaine, managed by a public institution. He benefited from a loan guaranteed by the State and aid from the department, but “without however asking for compensation in terms of the medium-term development of the activity and the economic prospects of the two resorts”yet threatened by a total absence of natural snow by 2050.
In the air sector
The Covid-19 crisis has put “highlight the weaknesses of the economic model” air transport “hitherto overshadowed by the growth of traffic”, judges the Court of Auditors. The ten largest French airports have thus seen the disappearance of nearly 70% of their customers in 2020, like Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport.
The crisis affects in particular the financing of air safety and security missions through the tax collected on the price of tickets. The State has granted managers advances of 550 million euros in 2020 and 2021, repayable over seven years from 2024, which for the Court “will weigh on the competitiveness of airports in the coming years”.
More broadly, the Court calls on the State and the Transport Regulatory Authority, which has the upper hand in the development of airport pricing, to prepare for “difficult decisions”.
On the management of local authorities
Citing the example of Hauts-de-France, the Court of Auditors points to the “lack of adjustment” local authorities granting public services that have been severely penalized by the crisis (sports and cultural facilities, convention centers and urban transport networks). They continued to fund service providers “even though the cessation of operation or its limitation, due to health constraints, necessarily led to a reduction in cost”.
On the delay of renewable energies
Looking at the supply of electricity, the magistrates suggest “to make up for the delays in the development of the new load shedding and production capacities provided for by the multiannual energy program in order to improve the security of supply”. Renewable capacity installations have fallen behind in France compared to the energy roadmap, a phenomenon accentuated by the health crisis. Emmanuel Macron, however, has just shake up this program with a raise nuclear power and a slowdown in the development of onshore wind power, to the benefit of offshore installations.
On the finances of Ile-de-France Mobilités
Additional revenue is needed to restore the financial balance of public transport in Ile-de-France, which has been damaged by the health crisis, notes the Court of Auditors. In July 2021, Ile-de-France Mobilités claimed 1.3 billion euros from the State. Among the solutions set out: increase prices, including the Navigo pass, target motorists or even make local authorities pay more. Ile-de-France motorists could be made to contribute, according to the Court of Auditors, via an urban toll, a sticker or a fuel tax.
On loans guaranteed by the State
Regarding loans guaranteed by the State (PGE), distributed to nearly 700,000 businesses during the health crisis, “the choices made in favor of a simple system, disseminated by the banks to their customers and with platform warranty request online have proven to be operational”, welcomes the Court of Auditors. However, she notes that “the final cost for finance, which is difficult to estimate, will depend on the companies’ ability to meet the reimbursement”. To better measure the risk of default, the report stresses the need for sufficiently detailed tools for monitoring company cash flow, a recommendation the government will study the feasibility of.