The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire will be heard on March 22 by the Finance Committee of the National Assembly on the sensitive subject of motorway concessions, we learned on Tuesday from Bercy, confirming information from the media Context.
The government also plans, according to Context, to launch public work in the spring on the future of motorway concessions, while the Senate’s Sustainable Development Committee is also planning hearings on this topic from March 29.
In January, Le Canard enchan had found a report from the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) for 2021, which would point to the profits made by the concession companies and would propose to reduce the rates for pages by 60% on almost two thirds of the network. .
The satirical weekly accused the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, of having stifled this report.
Most of the motorway network was privatized in 2006 and most motorway companies are controlled by three groups, the French Vinci and Eiffage and the Spanish Abertis.
Asked about the rise in the price of motorway pages and the profitability of concession companies, the Minister of the Economy replied that he was studying the possibility of shortening the duration of concessions.
The government claims not to have published the IGF report because it is used to prepare and support its arguments in existing disputes with motorway companies, which are contesting a 2020 decision to index the tax on the development of the territory on inflation to finance the Seine-Nord Europe canal.
The Transport Regulatory Authority (ART) had proposed in January to the State to favor shorter contracts, to give it greater leeway, while the main concessions will expire between 2031 and 2036.