South Region: Renaud Muselier under pressure after the end of on-demand transport in the valleys

The president of the South Region is being challenged on several issues. The RN-UDR-I denounces a communication contract that could reach 6 million euros. In the Alpes-Maritimes, the end of on-demand transport in the valleys is also causing political reactions.

Franck Allisio, president of the RN-UDR-I group at the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, has this time targeted a contract signed with communication agencies. According to the elected official, the market could represent up to six million euros and notably provides for the use of influencers to highlight the actions of the local authority. The amount mentioned corresponds however to the potential ceiling of the market and not to a sum already spent.

Less than two years before the next regional elections, Franck Allisio denounces “a new whim at the taxpayer’s expense” and accuses Renaud Muselier of not applying to himself the budgetary rigor demanded of residents. The opposition group also links this contract to a three million euro reduction in investments dedicated to high schools in the 2026 regional budget. Franck Allisio asserts that in case of a change in power, the RN-UDR-I would make reducing “unnecessary spending” a priority. The savings made would then be redirected towards safety in train stations, regional transport, support for the local economy and renovation of high schools.

The end of on-demand transport raises concerns in the valleys

Another issue directly concerns the Alpes-Maritimes. Without any announced consultation with local elected officials and the population, the South Region must end on-demand transport (TAD) as of September 1st in the territory of the Alpes d’Azur Inter-municipal Community. As early as July 23rd, Charles Ange Ginésy, president of the Alpes-Maritimes department and of the Alpes d’Azur Inter-municipal Community, had written to Renaud Muselier to request a reversal of this decision and the opening of genuine consultation.

Without a response to his letter and after confirmation by the regional management, Charles Ange Ginésy decided to make his opposition public. The initiative is supported by Jérôme Viaud, president of the Association of Mayors of the Alpes-Maritimes, and Pierre Corporandy, president of the Association of Rural Mayors of the Alpes-Maritimes. The department president denounces a decision made during the middle of summer and recalls the importance of TAD for valley residents: “I want to say it clearly: beyond the inadmissible step backward, it is also the method that raises questions. Removing a transport system that works well, without consultation, is an unacceptable decision for our rural territories. Charles Ange Ginéssy insists: In our valleys, more than elsewhere, transport is a necessity for the elderly or people with disabilities, young people, isolated residents or those who can no longer drive. For all these populations, TAD is an essential condition for access to healthcare, shops, employment and everyday services. Removing it means increasing the isolation of those who already have fewer public services, which widens territorial disparities even further.”

The departmental secretary of the PCF06, Julien Picot, also joins the opposition. The French Communist Party is asking Renaud Muselier to suspend the elimination of the system and open consultation with local elected officials, users and stakeholders involved. For the communists, transport is a necessary public service in rural territories, particularly for the elderly, young people, people with disabilities and residents without vehicles.

Renaud Muselier responds to Charles Ange Ginésy

Renaud Muselier contests however the presentation of the issue made by Charles Ange Ginésy. The president of the Region recalls that the Alpes d’Azur Inter-municipal Community chose to become a mobility organizing authority in 2021. “Stop hiding, five years ago, you chose to become a mobility organizing authority. It was not a forced choice, but an informed decision, freely made and taken in the interest of the population.”

Renaud Muselier also recalls that the South Region does not have exclusive competence over transport. “There is no sovereign power in transport matters, that doesn’t exist. The Region does not have exclusive competence over transport. In Nice, it’s the Metropolis, in Grasse it’s the Grasse Country Inter-municipal Community and in Puget-Théniers it’s the Alpes d’Azur Inter-municipal Community. That’s how it is in France and in the Region.”

The president of the Region also questions the choice made in 2021, when the financial capacities of the inter-municipal community were already constrained. “You also mention the financial capacities of the inter-municipal community but why did you request and obtain in 2021 the transport competence when the financial capacities of the inter-municipal community were the same as today?” Renaud Muselier also recalls that the State and the Region provide funding to the local authority because of its status as a transport organizing authority.

The response ends with a direct challenge to Charles Ange Ginésy: “With the financial package you receive, it is time you lived up to the decisions made. Stop passing the buck, own it and commit yourself!!!”

Between the communication contract contested by the RN-UDR-I and the announced elimination of on-demand transport in the valleys, several choices by the South Region are thus the subject of criticism. The exchanges over TAD now directly oppose Renaud Muselier and Charles Ange Ginésy, while the RN-UDR-I group intends to make regional spending an issue in the next campaign.