On-demand transport will be extended for four months in the valleys of the Alpes-Maritimes. Renaud Muselier affirms that the Alpes d’Azur Intermunicipal Community has been responsible for the service since 2021. Charles Ange Ginésy contests this interpretation and invokes the absence of a transfer agreement.
The power struggle continues over on-demand transport in Alpes d’Azur. After several weeks of mobilization, the South Region announced the extension of the scheme for four months. A decision that does not end the disagreement between Renaud Muselier and Charles Ange Ginésy.
The president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region maintains that the Alpes d’Azur Intermunicipal Community (CCAA) is responsible for organizing transport on its territory. A central point in the matter, while Charles Ange Ginésy maintains on his side that the intermunicipal body does not bear the legal responsibility for the continuity and financing of the service.
Renaud Muselier now returns to the decision made in 2021. According to the Region’s president, the CCAA chose to become a mobility organizing authority (AOM). « We must return to simple things – respect for responsibilities and the needs of residents. That’s why people no longer understand anything and no longer believe in politics, argues the Region’s president before elaborating: The Alpes d’Azur Intermunicipal Community is responsible for transport on its territory. This is clearly stated in the prefectural order of June 18, 2021 and it deliberated to assume this responsibility on February 12, 2021: “The responsibility for organizing mobility is transferred to the Alpes d’Azur Intermunicipal Community as of July 1, 2021. The Intermunicipal Community becomes, as such, the mobility organizing authority (AOM) on its perimeter”. »
The Region extends the service, but demands a transfer
Renaud Muselier also contests the idea that the Region decided to abruptly eliminate a service that the CCAA could not handle. For the South Region, the scheme has been financed for several years while the responsibility now falls to the intermunicipal body. « Taxpayers pay for this service. The Intermunicipal Community receives money for a service it does not provide. »
The Region thus affirms that it has provided the on-demand transport in the valleys of the Alpes-Maritimes for five years. The four-month extension is to ensure the continuity of the scheme, but does not constitute, according to Renaud Muselier, a sustainable solution: « The Region has provided this service without being obliged to for five years and is proposing four more months. The Region warned the Intermunicipal Community that this situation could not continue. The law must be respected. »
This position directly opposes that of Charles Ange Ginésy. The president of the Alpes-Maritimes department and the CCAA affirms that the legal analysis of the department’s and intermunicipal services is supported by the opinion of the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes.
Charles Ange Ginésy relies in particular on article L.3111-5 of the Transport Code. According to this interpretation, the transfer of responsibilities should have been the subject of an agreement between the authorities concerned. « However, nothing, neither in 2021 nor in 2026, has been negotiated on this matter », affirms the CCAA president.
For Renaud Muselier, this argument does not, however, allow challenging the responsibility assigned to the Alpes d’Azur Intermunicipal Community in 2021. The Region now asks Charles Ange Ginésy to take responsibility for the consequences of this transfer. « It’s a simple solution. But now Mr. Ginésy must take responsibility without hiding behind the prefect or questionable analyses from his own services. »
The matter therefore remains open despite the four-month extension. The question of financing on-demand transport Alpes d’Azur remains at the center of discussions. In the valleys, maintaining the service is a concern for residents, particularly in rural municipalities where on-demand transport meets the needs of elderly people, young people, people with disabilities, and residents without vehicles.
The disagreement now concerns both the future of the scheme and the responsibility for its organization. On one side, the South Region invokes the transfer of responsibility established in 2021. On the other, Charles Ange Ginésy contests the legal and financial consequences of this transfer. The four months of extension are therefore not sufficient to resolve the dispute, whose outcome must be determined by the competent authorities.
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