uThere is only one watchword: simplify. “Too many standards kill growth. […] the bosses of VSEs and SMEs are exasperated, angry at the accumulation of paperwork,” thundered Bruno Le Maire, who is presenting his bill to the Council of Ministers this Wednesday.
This plan contains around fifty proposals which should simplify the lives of individuals – by shortening, for example, the number of lines written on pay slips – and businesses, with a particular focus on “small craftsmen” for whom this burden administrative work represents up to eight hours of work per week.
Part of the measures have already been revealed on Monday April 22 by Gabriel Attal, thus pulling the rug out from under the boss of Bercy, in the midst of a period of tension between the head of state and the number two in the government. The Minister of the Economy nevertheless made a point of speaking to the press this Wednesday, alongside the Ministers of Industry, Commerce and the Civil Service, to detail in particular certain measures favorable to industrialists.
Since the law relating to green industry, the authorization period for industrial projects has fallen from seventeen to nine months, assures Bercy. But it is still too long, believes the ministry. “Reindustrialization is the mother of all political battles,” declared Roland Lescure, the Minister for Industry.
Removal of the obligation of public debate
To prevent industrial projects from being blocked in their search for land, the plan plans to reduce the scope of application of the ZAN (zero net artificialization) law for industrial projects. “New factories and the extension of existing factories will automatically benefit from the national ZAN quota,” detailed the Minister of the Economy.
The obligation for industrial projects to submit to a public debate, organized under the aegis of the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP), is removed. This phase could last “between six months and a year and this period is added to that necessary to obtain administrative authorizations”, justifies the ministry. In Allier, for example, the project to open a lithium mine began in March with the organization of a public debate, which raised the concerns of local residents about the environmental consequences of this exploitation.
READ ALSO Industry, attractiveness: is France really back? The application of environmental compensation measures will be “relaxed”. The law currently requires companies to “compensate” for the impact they will have on biodiversity by carrying out rehabilitation, restoration or environmental creation actions. These measures must be put in place before the launch of the industrial project. They must now be carried out within “a reasonable time”, detailed the Ministry of Industry.
Stop abusive appeals
Finally, the government is tackling appeals frequently filed by environmental organizations against environmental authorizations or building permits. “The time limit for third parties to appeal against environmental authorization is reduced from four to two months. […] Projects of major national interest and structuring projects will be subject to accelerated litigation procedures,” specifies the action plan. “Today, industrial projects, due to abusive recourse, can take four to eight years before being finalized; with this action plan, it will be one year,” assured the Minister of the Economy.
These measures should give industrialists breathing space to carry out their projects, but they risk making environmental organizations cringe. “I will not let it be said that the Ministry of the Economy and Finance is not a ministry totally committed to the ecological transition,” defended the minister.
“The biodiversity objective is major and strategic, but what do we want? » questioned Bruno Le Maire, citing the case of an industrial project “blocked while the land is available, the factory is ready to come, it is ready to produce in satisfactory environmental conditions”.
“We could give it up because he must immediately offset biodiversity and he does not have the land available. If we leave it there, what happens? The factory will open elsewhere, produce in unsatisfactory environmental conditions and we will re-import products from foreign countries. We will be triple losers, in terms of employment, growth and the climate,” he argued. The legislative component of this action plan will have to be examined by the Senate on June 3.
