In the noble sense of the term, one expects politics to express and implement values transformed into actions with the aim of pursuing the general interest. Then, there is political maneuvering, which aims at consensus for popularity and/or electoral purposes. This tends to target a particular interest. So facts versus words!
During its meeting yesterday, the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolitan Council deliberated that after negotiation with the service provider, “as of January 1, 2013, the price of a cubic meter of drinking water (excluding subscription, pollution charges, and sanitation) will decrease by 10 cents for the people of Nice.”
“This measure results from the political will regarding sanitation and energy, to offer users a quality service at the lowest possible price for all,” stated the President of the Metropolis, Christian Estrosi, not without pride in this fine result.
But the reality is a bit different… asserts Jean-Christophe Picard, president of PRG 06 and thus his opponent, in a statement.
Why?
On September 13, Christian Estrosi announced that he “will propose to the metropolitan council on September 21 that the public service delegation concerning the management of drinking water in the territory of the city of Nice (Veolia) ends on February 4, 2015, which is two and a half years before its original term.” He explains: “Our goal is to offer an identical service quality for everyone at the lowest possible price.
“In fact, the Council of State ruled on April 8, 2009, that contracts concluded in the water sector for a period exceeding 20 years can no longer be regularly executed from February 3, 2015, unless there are specific justifications submitted to the examination of the Departmental Director of Finance. However, in an opinion dated June 6, 2012, the latter announced that in this case, nothing could justify a possible extension. Therefore, the metropolitan council had no other choice but to declare the termination of the current agreement on February 4, 2015. In short, Christian Estrosi has only applied the law and jurisprudence…”
“Same causes, same effects: we ended up feeling that Christian Estrosi was a permanent Santa Claus. But here too, the reality needs to be nuanced.” – continues Jean-Christophe Picard.
And to conclude: “Christian Estrosi refrains from giving the final amount users will have to pay… and for a reason! With the decrease, the price of a cubic meter of water (excluding subscription, pollution charges, and sanitation) will still be €0.89. The people of Nice will therefore continue to pay 3.5 times more than residents of Antibes (€0.2584/m3). So much for the so-called ‘lowest possible price’! Only the mayor of Nice would brag about such a performance.”
The moral: If indeed the price of water will decrease by 10 cents and it is correct to say it will be “lower,” is it also “correct” to say it will be “the lowest price”?
A simple question of pronominal particle!
