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ourt of

CCountS

Summaries

Part II

ummaries are intended to facilitate the understanding

and use of the report produced by the Court of

Accounts.

Solely the original report is legally binding on the Court of

Accounts.

The responses of the administrations and other bodies

concerned are included in the report.

Disclaimer

Annual public

report

2013

Progress

Introduction

The 2013 annual public report

produced by the Court of Accounts

comprises three parts, only the first two of which have corresponding

summaries :

Part I

, which comprises two volumes (I-1 and I-2), outlines the

obser-

vations

and recommendations drawn from a selection of audits, surveys

and evaluations carried out in 2012 by the Court, regional and territorial

courts of accounts, or the Court in conjunction with regional and territo-

rial courts of accounts;

Part II

focuses exclusively on the

action

taken by authorities, admi-

nistrations and other audited bodies following the observations and

recommendations made in previous years;

Part III

provides an overview of the activities of the Court and the

regional and territorial courts of accounts over the course of 2012.

The annual report produced by the

Cour de Discipline Budgétaire et

Financière

(French ‘Budget and Finance Disciplinary Court’) is attached

as an appendix to these three parts of the report.

The present instalment comprises a series of summaries of the 18 texts

that make up Part II, ‘Progress’.

These 18 texts examine the measures that have or have not been taken

following the recommendations previously made by the Court or by

regional or territorial courts of accounts or jointly by both.

They are divided into

three categories

, each represented by a specific

colour to reflect the level of implementation observed:

part (green): the Court has observed evidence of progress (3)

;

part (orange): the Court reiterates the importance of taking

action(9):

. chapter I:

Advances to be magnified (4)

;

. chapter II:

Inadequate reforms (5)

;

part (red): the Court issues a warning (6).

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Summaries of Part II

Progress

I - The Court has observed evidence of progress

The French Defence Health Service: a commitment to progress . .7

The Autonomous Port of Guadeloupe: a progress-driven

approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

The budgetary equilibrium of Hénin-Beaumont: a rapid recovery

that needs to be secured . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

II - The Court reiterates the importance of

taking action

Chapter I: Advances to be magnified

Funding ongoing professional training: the incomplete restructuring

of the fund-raising network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

The 1% housing contribution: a mid-term reform . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

The bank support plan: a non-definitive financial assessment

and insufficient monitoring of remuneration

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Managing the Grand Nouméa aqueduct: an inappropriate

concession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Chapter II: insufficient reform

Fighting excessive debt among individuals: a great deal of progress

yet to be made . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

The

Centre des Monuments Nationaux

: a belated recovery . . . . . .28

The Public Planning Authority of La Défense Seine Arche

(EPADESA): an as-yet poorly defined pooling of expertise and

uncertain prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Contents

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

Occupational accidents and illnesses: weaknesses in the general

social security regime’s prevention policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Managing public health teleservices: still room for improvement .35

III - The Court issues a warning

The CNED: a public education establishment that is poorly-adapted

to online training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

France’s international broadcasting industry: a costly and chaotic

reform

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

The

Caisse des Congés Spectacles

: a special regime which is still ina-

dequate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

The Cap’Découverte complex in Carmaux (Tarn): a persistently high

deficit and an essential reduction in commercial activity . . . . . . . .46

Bussy-Saint-Georges (Seine-et-Marne): a persistent refusal of finan-

cial recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

The Basse-Terre public abattoir (Guadeloupe): seven years of

deficit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Court of Accounts

the french Defence Health Service:

a commitment to progress

The French Defence Health Service

employs 16,000 agents and has a budget

€

1.6bn. It is responsible for provi-

ding soldiers, both within France and on

operation elsewhere, with care ranging

from community medicine, administe-

red by the unit-based doctor, to the

most serious of surgical procedures car-

ried out at one of the nine armed forces

training hospitals, the military hospitals.

The Court, in its October 2010

report, recommended that the cost of

training medical staff be reduced and

made more pertinent, that the efficiency

and monitoring of health support for

soldiers on operation be improved, that

unit doctors’ time be better spent and

that the military hospital deficit be redu-

ced. The French Defence Health

Service outlined its plans to modernise

its services to the Council of Ministers

on 18 May 2011.

Indications of the action taken as a

result of the recommendations made by

the Court appear positive, although une-

venly distributed across different areas.

Armed forces practitioner

training has improved and

is now better managed.

Military training for practitioners

has been both increased, from 8% to

13% of the syllabus, and improved, with

the notable step being taken to familia-

rise doctors with operational interven-

tion techniques. Pupils or soldiers who

abandon their training prior to the fulfil-

ment of their service obligations must

pay back their tuition fees, even in the

event that they go on to pursue a career

in the public sector. The cost of training

practitioners has also been reduced as a

result of the merger of the two colleges

in Lyon and Bordeaux. There are, of

course, further savings to be made by

combining doctors’ training with that of

nurses.

Varying degrees of action

have been taken with

regards to the health sup-

port provided for soldiers

on operation

With regards to health support for

troops on operation, auxiliary staff have

been trained in advanced combat rescue

techniques and an action plan relating to

post-traumatic psychological problems

has been implemented. The provision of

the necessary air-based resources and

the use of allied means has provided

soldiers with good evacuation condi-

tions.

No major advances have been made

with regards to cooperation with allies

as a result of coalition agreements.

Likewise, whilst medical assistance for

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the french Defence Health Service

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

local civilian populations appears to

have increased, its impact on the activity

of surgical teams has not been measu-

red. The service is still not in a position

to provide average evacuation times for

those with injuries or to compare them

with NATO standards.

unit-based medicine has been

only marginally reformed

Whilst unit doctors are more invol-

ved in emergency care, the objectives set

nevertheless appear under-ambitious.

The medical activity of unit-based doc-

tors is stagnating, since the number of

doctors and organisations has not been

reduced. The invoicing of care provided

for soldiers consulting physicians out-

side of the service and for their assi-

gnees has not yet been introduced; the

health service has, however, carried out

an experimental exercise and has come

up with a system based on an agreement

with the

Caisse Nationale Militaire de

Sécurité Sociale

(‘French National

Military Social Security Fund’) which

partially reflects the recommendation

made.

Military hospitals must receive

close attention if their deficit is

to continue to be reduced

Cooperation with the public health

sector has been stepped up at both

national and local levels in conjunction

with regional health boards. Likewise,

the exchange and pooling of infrastruc-

tures with civilian hospitals have been

increased. The service has also introdu-

ced actual training for military hospital

directors but has not, in doing so, gran-

ted them greater freedom of manage-

ment.

The military hospital deficit has

been reduced by 26% in relation to 2009

and the financial contribution of the

Ministry of Defence has decreased by

15%. The increase in revenue is, howe-

ver, somewhat slower than anticipated

and expenditure is yet to be stabilised.

Efforts in this respect must be sustai-

ned.

In conclusion, then, only two years

after the publication of the Public

Thematic Report produced by the

Court, the health service has made signi-

ficant progress and is currently conside-

ring a new service plan. Military hospi-

tals are thought to be cooperating more

widely with the public health sector, be

more specialised in certain fields and

have greater freedom of management.

Unit-based medicine is believed now to

be more focused on care and emergen-

cies.

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the french Defence Health Service

–

to continue with efforts to

improve armed forces training-related

hospital accounts by improving the

way they are linked with other players

in the public health sector;

–

to give hospital directors greater

independence with regards to the ope-

rational agreement outlined by the

Armed Forces Staff;

–

to increase the care and emer-

gency activity of unit-based doctors by

having them treat patients outside of

the armed forces, based on the military

hospital model, or even by reducing

the number of doctors;

–

to continue the efforts made to

reduce training costs by merging the

nursing college and the practitioners’

college of Lyon;

–

to accelerate the introduction of

an evacuation time monitoring system

for those with injuries and the invoi-

cing of soldiers and their assignees for

care and treatment that does not relate

to the service as much as possible.

recommendations

Court of Accounts

the Autonomous Port of

Guadeloupe:

a progress-driven approach

Almost all goods entering and lea-

ving the Guadelupian archipelago travel

by sea, that is via the Autonomous Port

of Guadeloupe, which has become a

major seaport. The smooth running of

the public institution, its pricing policy

and its strategy therefore have a major

impact on the local economy.

Following its previous audit, the

Court had made some strong criticisms

regarding the running and management

of the autonomous port. A new exami-

nation helped reveal the progress that

had been made, which should now be

continued.

the size of the

Guadelupian market and

the strong regional compe-

tition

The activity of the autonomous

port (3.44 million tonnes in 2011)

focuses primarily on the Guadelupian

market, with imports accounting for

nearly 80% of all traffic. The growth

perspectives for the institution’s various

activities are therefore closely linked to

the growth of the domestic market,

which would appear not to have to

exceed 1% a year.

The transshipment industry, the

only sector that is truly independent of

the island’s economy, has been identified

as a vehicle for dynamism.

These avenues are, however, part of

wider

context

which

the

Autonomous Port of Guadeloupe

accounts for very little traffic other than

that which connects it to mainland

France, and where competition with

other regional ports is strong.

Given that we are talking, here,

about passenger traffic, activity is mainly

supported by local links (over 84% of

traffic). Cruising has, indeed, undergone

a period of great decline over the past

few years. Whilst the geographical

proximity of and close collaboration

between the port and airport platforms

of Pointe-à-Pitre may be an asset for

land-based cruise facilities (a little over

102,000 passengers in 2011), the port’s

activity in this sector remains low in

relation to traffic levels in the Caribbean

region (20 million cruise passengers per

year).

new strategic guidelines

In response to the earlier criticisms

made by the Court regarding the lack of

strategic consideration, the port adopted

a business plan in 2009. Aware of the

issues associated with opening the

Panama Canal up to very large container

carriers by 2015, the institution attemp-

ted to anticipate the likely evolution of

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

the Autonomous Port of Guadeloupe

sea-borne traffic in the Caribbean

region.

Having already been the subject of

various studies and a public debate, the

‘major port project’, amounting to an

estimated

€

130m, aims to increase the

capacities of port infrastructures by

dredging access routes to accommodate

future vessels, opening a new container

terminal and extending the quayside.

In addition to this investment and

aside from the fundamental factor that

is social reliability, the commercial

attractiveness of the port will be an

essential condition for stimulating

demand and encouraging ship-owners

to call at Guadeloupe.

Improved internal functio-

ning and renewed reliabi-

lity

The internal functioning of the port

has been significantly improved, notably

as a result of restructuring operations

and the implementation of management

tools, which should now be optimised

wherever possible. Furthermore, certain

avenues for progress have been identi-

fied in the field of public procurement.

The

dynamism

and

working

methods introduced by the Director-

General, the strengthening of the fra-

mework and the synergy associated with

development plans are also among the

advances made.

The social situation, too, has impro-

ved, with the establishment undergoing

a period of reliability that has been wel-

comed by elected officials, representa-

tives of the State, economic players and

particularly ship-owners and port opera-

tors.

the need to manage

certain expenses

The establishment’s financial situa-

tion is generally a healthy one. Between

2006 and 2011, the port consistently

generated a surplus and paid annual

dividends to the State. A closer look at

its operating costs, however, reveals

some difficulty in managing certain run-

ning expenses. Likewise, the institution

needs to demonstrate its application of

a wage restraint policy if it is to be com-

petitive at a regional level.

Such efforts will be all the more

essential given that the port relies on

loaning significant amounts of money

to fund its plans.

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the Autonomous Port of Guadeloupe

With regards to the State:

–

to more openly include the issue

of the place of the port of Fort-de-

France in the strategic consideration

given to the evolution of sea-borne

traffic in the Caribbean region.

With regards to the public institu-

tion:

–

to draw up and implement an

action plan for managing expenditure

relating to property rental and travel

expenses;

–

to optimise the tools implemen-

ted in the fields of internal control,

management control and cost accoun-

ting;

–

to respect the outline set by the

inter-ministerial public sector salary

audit committee;

–

to reinforce monitoring in the

field of public procurement.

recommendations

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Court of Accounts

the budgetary equilibrium

of Hénin-Beaumont:

a rapid recovery that needs

to be secured

In its 2010 public report, the Court

mentioned the chronic financial difficul-

ties experienced by this town in the

department of Pas-de-Calais and the

results of the multiple audit procedures

implemented by the regional court of

accounts of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

A costly management system mar-

red by irregularities, combined with

poor administrative organisation, were

the cause of significant deficits which

left the town in a cash-flow deadlock

and compromised the continuity of

community services.

By the end of the 2008 financial

year, the cumulative operating deficit

stood at

€

13.9m.

The serious failings on the part of

the mayor and his continued refusal to

act upon the opinions and recommen-

dations of the prefect and the regional

court justified his dismissal by means of

a decree dated 28 May 2009, a decision

validated by the Council of State

Conseil d’État.

A fragile recovery

The cooperation of State institu-

tions and departments enabled the reco-

very plan to be effectively monitored.

Having initially been drawn up for a

period of four years, the plan resulted in

the town’s financial balance being resto-

red a year earlier than anticipated.

Indeed, this recovery was referred to in

a statement issued by the regional court

on 2 August 2012.

One third of the recovery was lin-

ked to the savings made in operations

and two thirds to the efforts on the part

of the taxpayer (19.8% increase in tax

rates between 2007 and 2009).

It nevertheless remains fragile as a

result of reduced fiscal room for

manoeuvre and the risks of an increase

notably in investment expenditure, as

was the case in 2005 after an initial reco-

very plan was implemented.

the budgetary equilibrium

of Hénin-Beaumont

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

The Court reiterates the recom-

mendations outlined in the statement

issued by the regional court of

accounts on 2 August 2012 and would

advise the town to adopt the following

measures:

–

ensure that running expenses,

and in particular those relating to

equity and grants, are appropriately

managed;

–

ensure that the authority’s fiscal

policy remains compatible with the

sustainable balancing of accounts in

the future;

–

adopt a realistic investment

policy, one which reflects the actual

possibilities for raising funds, as part

of a debt management system;

–

continue efforts undertaken to

improve the management and reliabi-

lity of accounts.

The recommendations made by

the Court of Accounts in its 2009 and

2010 annual public reports for preven-

ting the deterioration of local finance

and improving the efficiency of bud-

getary control procedures are still per-

fectly current.

The Court would therefore like to

reiterate its recommendation that the

Code

énéral

des

Collectivités

Territoriales

(French ‘General Code of

Local Authorities’) be modified for the

following reasons

(1)

–

to make statements and prefec-

tural orders relating to local budgets

publicly available as soon as they are

issued, without having to wait for the

deliberative assembly to meet, as is

currently the case;

–

to be able to hold the certifying

officer responsible before the

Cour de

Discipline Budgétaire et Financière

the event of a serious failure in the

implementation of a budgetary adjust-

ment should it fall outside of the limits

of the orders issued by the prefect to

adjust the budget;

–

to ensure that the deliberative

body is bound to respect the provi-

sions ordered by the prefect with

regards to settling the budget or in the

event that the authority has initially

adopted the recovery measures put

forward by the regional court, with no

possibility of it being challenged by

any modification decision to re-esta-

blish any previously withdrawn credit

or by a decision to reduce tax rates.

recommendations

______________________

(1) The same recommendation is reiterated in the case of Bussy-Saint-Georges, as out-

lined in the third part (5) of the present Part II.

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

funding ongoing professional

training:

the incomplete restructuring

of the fund-raising network

The funding of ongoing professio-

nal training stems from a legal principle

relating to the funding obligation on the

part of companies. The law states that a

proportion of the sums relating to the

training initiative must be paid to ‘joint

commissions for collective training’

(OPCAs), which redistribute the contri-

butions collected in this way. These

bodies collected a total of

€

6.5bn in

2011.

The Court, in its 2008 report, had

identified certain malfunctions which

notably included the dissipation of

OPCAs and the insufficient pooling of

professional training funds among busi-

nesses, as well as the system’s inability to

effectively direct these funds towards

those employees who had been left in

the most vulnerable positions as a result

of developments in the labour market.

The Court made a number of

recommendations, including a reduction

in the number of OPCAs in operation,

the creation of organisations designed

to introduce and direct training initia-

tives

towards

the

least

qualified

employees and even, failing that, the

transfer of responsibility for ‘raising

funds for professional training initiatives

(…) to a single body, or even to the

Unions de recouvrement des cotisations

de sécurité sociale et d’allocations fami-

liales (Union for recovering of the

French social security, URSSAF)’.

The law of 24 November 2009 rela-

ting to lifelong professional training and

career guidance was included in the gui-

delines issued by the Court. Setting a

deadline of 1 January 2012 for the

implementation of some of its provi-

sions, the law notably resulted in the

reform of the OPCA network and crea-

ted a new pooling structure known as

the

Fonds Paritaire de Sécurisation des

Parcours Professionnels

(‘Joint Career

Security Fund’, FPSPP).

The Court is compiling an initial

report on the implementation of this

reform.

A marked reduction in the

number of collection

bodies

The increase in the minimal collec-

tion threshold required for authorisation

has resulted in a significant reduction in

the number of OPCAs, which has

decreased from 65 to 20 through the

merger of collection bodies. This posi-

tive development must be supported by

improved efficiency in the management

funding ongoing

professional training

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

of the bodies concerned. Without such

an improvement, the reform of the

OPCA network would not go far

enough in reducing the ‘costly scattering

of resources’ identified by the Court in

2008.

Management tools that

need to be strengthened

The law of 24 November 2009 sti-

pulates that OPCAs must sign three-

year aims and means contracts (COMs)

‘ outlining the terms governing the fun-

ding and implementation of collection

body missions’ with the State.

Although

these agreements were introduced on 1

January 2012, early indications of their

effects have been somewhat disappoin-

ting.

And the implementation of COMs

has not succeeded in reducing OPCA

administration costs. The 20 new orga-

nisations were therefore expected to

cost

€

14m more than the 65 old ones in

2012. Whilst it might be possible to

explain this development in the short-

term by an improvement in the services

provided, the issue of a reduction in

costs in absolute terms should not be

avoided over the coming years.

Furthermore, the contracts focus

exclusively on administration costs, with

no reference to any objectives relating to

the allocation of funds. Restricting the

interpretation of the provisions of the

law of 24 November 2009 deprives the

State of an instrument of action that

would enable ongoing professional trai-

ning initiatives to be better targeted

towards those that need them the most.

Finally, the terms governing the

monitoring of OPCAs by State depart-

ments would appear to be too complex

and difficult to implement in practical

terms.

An inadequate contribution

to improving career secu-

rity

The

Fonds Paritaire de Sécurisation

des Parcours Professionnels

(‘Joint

Career Security Fund’, FPSPP), exhibits

a two-pronged pooling system:

- it serves an equalisation function

that enables those OPCAs that need

funding for certain types of training ini-

tiative to apply for additional funding;

- it manages training programmes

targeted at priority audiences and co-

funded by OPCAs and State or

European Social Fund (ESF) funding,

or even, in some cases, regional funding.

These were not, however, applied for in

the framework of calls for proposals

issued by the FPSPP.

There is evidence that the number

of OPCAs benefiting from the equalisa-

tion system has only slightly increased,

despite the increase in the amounts real-

located

the

system

itself.

Furthermore, the implementation of

calls for proposals has proven proble-

matic due to significant start-up difficul-

ties; in mid-2012, the actual situation

regarding training funded by the FPSPP

was still unknown, notably because the

development of the tools designed to

monitor the situation was proving parti-

cularly slow.

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

–

to make the aims and means

contracts signed between the State and

OPCAs more ambitious in terms of

both reducing administration costs and

targeting training initiatives;

–

to severely limit the number of

OPCA management indicators moni-

tored by the

Délégation Générale à

l’Emploi

Formation

Professionnelle

(‘Delegation-General

for Employment and Professional

Training’, DGEFD);

–

to make the redistribution

brought about as a result of the equa-

lisation

mechanism

implemented

within the FPSPP more transparent ;

to publish the annual statement on

equalisation as an appendix to the bud-

get proposal relating to professional

training.

recommendations

funding ongoing

professional training

Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the 1% housing contribution:

a mid-term reform

In 2006, and later in 2009 and 2010,

the Court announced its decision regar-

ding the employers’ contribution to the

social housing levy (PEEC), still refer-

red to as the

1% logement

(‘1% housing

contribution’), a mandatory levy that

releases some

€

4bn per year.

The law of 25 March 2009 on mobi-

lisation for housing and the fight against

exclusion made it possible to reform

certain institutions and to align PEEC

jobs with national housing policy. The

Court consequently drew up a report on

the reform undertaken in 2009, a report

that proved particularly useful when, in

autumn 2012, various new initiatives

were announced by the Housing

Minister.

the largely complete insti-

tutional reform

The Court has previously identified

a lack of transparency in the way both

the

Union des Entreprises et des Salariés

pour le Logement

(‘Company and

Employee Housing Union’, UESL) and

the

Agence

Nationale

pour

Participation des Employeurs à l’Effort

de Construction

(‘National Agency for

the Employers’ Contribution to the

Social Housing Levy’, ANPEEC) are

run. Both the structure and manage-

ment of these two institutions were

modified following the 2009 law and the

defects identified have been rectified.

The Court had also recommended

merging the

Mission Interministérielle

d’Inspection

Logement

Social

(‘Inter-ministerial

Social

Housing

Inspection Mission’, MIILOS) and the

ANPEEC; indeed, the creation of a

national social housing body supervi-

sory authority responsible for providing

this link has recently been announced.

An effective merger but an

as-yet incomplete

restructuring of collection

bodies

The number and the location of 1%

collection bodies –within inter-profes-

sional housing committees (CILs)–

decreased from 109 in 2008 to 24 in

2011. The strategy and the rationality

behind the restructuring of collection

bodies, however, still lacks clarity and

the State failed to ensure that the

restructuring efforts were coherent with

national housing policy guidelines.

Furthermore, the risk of costly compe-

tition between collection bodies opera-

ting in the same region with regards to

receiving payments from companies

that are subject to the 1% rule cannot be

ignored.

There is also room for improvement

when it comes to monitoring director

remuneration and pension schemes,

despite the creation of an appointment

and remuneration committee.

The Court had also, in 2009, appea-

led for collection bodies to observe the

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the 1% housing contribution

rules of competition; these provisions

are still all too rarely applied.

The recent introduction of a series

of risk management rules is certainly a

step towards improving the monitoring

system, but it is important, now, that

these rules be applied.

Only three CILs currently produce

combined financial statements, notably

for the purposes of accounting for the

financial flows between collection

bodies and the HLM social housing

organisations in which they hold shares.

1% housing contribution

jobs to be optimised as a

result of decreased

resources

The

housing

contribution

resources are allocated to various jobs

listed in Article L. 313-3 of the

Code de

la Construction et de l’Habitation

(French ‘Code of Construction and

Housing’)

and can be used to help indi-

viduals or legal entities or to fund natio-

nal policies.

The conditions governing the finan-

cial balance of the 1% housing contri-

bution scheme have undergone signifi-

cant changes over the past few years:

- resources appear to be decreasing,

notably due to the decline in return on

loans (brought about by the decrease in

funds used to grant loans);

- as a result, jobs have also suffered

significant erosion (-12% between 2009

and 2011);

- the redeployment of 1% funds

towards more socially efficient purposes

has not been accomplished, notably

because the choices associated with

using these funds are more a result of

compromise between PEEC players

than a compared evaluation of the

benefits of the uses made of such

funds;

- the significant increase in grants

awarded to national policy as of 2009

has been offset by a decrease in certain

other uses, particularly support for indi-

viduals; indeed, it is only this significant

decrease that made it possible to limit in

2011 the overall deficit observed in

2010.

the decline in the cash flow

of the 1% housing contribu-

tion scheme

The

housing

contribution

scheme’s cash flow levels (contributions

deducted) dropped by 40% between

2008 and 2010. According to a forecast

made in April 2011, this cash flow,

excluding contributions, was expected

to be negative as at 31 December 2011

and remain this way until 2016, when it

would very gradually start to recover.

In this troubled context, the 1%

housing contribution movement could

be authorised to borrow

€

1bn over the

course of each of the 2013-2015 finan-

cial years from the savings fund mana-

ged by the

Caisse des Dépôts et

Consignations

(‘Deposit

and

Consignment Office’) and fed by Livret

A savings account contributions. This

resorting to loans to fund a new drive to

construct more social housing would

enable the State to obtain funding for its

social housing policy without having to

request additional budgetary means, but

it does raise the issue of the sustainabi-

lity of the PEEC financial model.

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the 1% housing contribution

For the UESL and collection

bodies:

–

to draw up an inventory of the

regional distribution of PEEC contri-

butions and the initiatives they fund;

–

to effectively reduce manage-

ment costs by means of mergers;

–

to continue efforts to merge so-

called ‘Titre V’ subsidiaries of collec-

tion bodies;

–

to implement combined accoun-

ting procedures within CIL groups, as

well as between collection bodies and

the UESL;

–

to continue to adjust the condi-

tions governing director remunera-

tion,– notably by ensuring that it is not

placed under the jurisdiction of an

economic interest grouping (EIG) –,

together with the financial conditions

governing the laying off of directors;

–

categorically

justify

the

choices made with regards to the res-

pective funding of legal entities.

For the ANPEEC:

–

to systematically carry out an

impact study of new initiatives des-

igned to benefit individuals and an eva-

luation of the initiatives implemented

over the course of the past three years.

For the State:

–

to give the national authority that

is in the process of being created

extensive prerogatives with regards to

surveys and evaluations that are com-

parable to those of the ANPEEC;

–

to make it compulsory for a col-

lection body and the subsidiaries it

controls

produce

combined

accounts.

recommendations

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Court of Accounts

the bank support plan: a non-

definitive financial assess-

ment and insufficient monito-

ring of remuneration

The Court drew up a new assess-

ment of the support credit establish-

ments received from the State in the

wake of the banking crisis that hit in

autumn 2008. It identifies that the finan-

cial assessment of revenue received in

the form of support for charges incur-

red is positive, but this assessment is not

yet definitive since it includes neither the

cost to public finance of the Dexia res-

cue plan nor the new support granted to

two banks, namely Crédit Immobilier de

France and Banque PSA Finance, as of

autumn 2012.

Some progress has been made with

regards to the State’s monitoring of the

compensation the supported credit esta-

blishments were supposed to provide

with regards to funding the economy

and the introduction of a system for

monitoring the remuneration of direc-

tors and banking professionals.

Efforts in both of these areas must,

nevertheless, be maintained. There are

weaknesses in certain sectors, with

regards to the way in which the eco-

nomy is funded, which call for credit

such as local government funding.

Although a major initial milestone has

been reached since 2009, the effects of

monitoring remuneration must be even

more durable and more harmonised at

international level in order to avoid

taking excessively high risks.

A positive but provisional financial

assessment

In the context of autumn 2008, the

State had introduced a two-pronged

support programme for credit establish-

ments involving an injection in equity

capital on the part of the State by means

of a public corporation, the

Société de

Prise de Participation de l’État

(French

‘State

Shareholding

Corporation’,

SPPE), and a series of loans by means

of a private company underwritten by

the State, the

Société de Financement de

l’Économie Française

(‘Corporation for

Financing

the

French

Economy’,

SFEF). All equity capital was repaid in

advance with a budgetary saving of

over

€

400m, despite the complete

depreciation of the share acquired in

Dexia in 2008 (

€

1bn).

Outstanding

loans at the end of 2012 still amounted

€

24bn out of an initial amount of

€

77bn and will not be fully repaid until

2014. The budgetary saving achieved in

this respect amounts to nearly

€

1.4bn.

The budgetary saving for the State

across the entire common law pro-

gramme (SPPE and SFEF) therefore

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the bank support plan

stood at nearly

€

1.8bn at the end of

2012.

The full assessment of State sup-

port must, however, take into account

all forms of support provided for Dexia

that are currently being examined by the

Court, as well as two new individual

support plans introduced in late 2012

for establishments that had already

received help from the SFEF (Crédit

Immobilier de France and Banque PSA

Finance).

The Court would recommend that a

statement outlining the effects for the

State of the SFEF and the SPPE, as well

as of other financial support provided

for the banks, be produced on an annual

basis as of 2013.

The need to broaden the way in

which the funding of the economy

is monitored

The support provided for the banks

by the State in 2008-2009 must be fully

repaid by the former in 2014. In return

for the support received, the banks had

agreed to support the growth of lending

to the economy. Although the State

stopped setting quantifiable growth tar-

gets for the banks in late 2009, it never-

theless continued to extensively monitor

the funding of the economy, in accor-

dance with the law, using the consolida-

ted data provided by the Banque de

France relating to both the evolution of

the credit outstanding in non-financial

sectors and the granting of credit to

companies.

Credit growth was sustained in

France in 2010 and 2011 (+5% per year)

but slowed significantly in 2012. It was

also necessary to really mobilise the

public financial sector during this

period, including the savings fund, with

regards to long-term funding, and

OSEO, for the purposes of business

development. Credit mediation was

renewed and primarily aimed at busi-

nesses in difficulty.

The tensions that appeared in 2011

with regards to the funding of local and

regional authorities highlighted a need

for more astute monitoring of banking

services in this segment. Furthermore,

although awareness of business lending

has greatly improved over the past few

years, the guarantees required by the

banks, particularly from very small

enterprises and sole proprietorships, are

still not very clearly identified.

The Court would recommend that

the report submitted to the State be

broadened in order to monitor the cre-

dit awarded to local and regional autho-

rities separately from credit awarded to

other local public administrations.

The relative efficiency of the moni-

toring of remuneration

The European regulations in force

since 2010 are a continuation of the

measures taken by France since 2009,

outlining some initial requirements for

supported establishments. Inspections

carried out since 2009, notably by the

banking supervisor, revealed a degree of

moderation with regards to remunera-

tion, stemming primarily from the

decline in the establishments’ profits.

They also revealed that the recommen-

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Previous recommendations:

–

to effectively implement a reco-

very procedure in the event that a bank

defaults on its obligations (SFEF);

–

to make those structures designed

to deal with businesses in difficulty more

comprehensible at both local and natio-

nal level by bringing together the credit

mediation

the

Comité

Interministériel

Restructuration

Industrielle

(French ‘Inter-ministerial

Committee

for

Industrial

Restructuring’), departmental commit-

tees for reviewing issues of corporate

finance and productive recovery auditors

(General Directorate of the Treasury).

New recommendations:

–

to produce a statement outlining

the effects for the State of the SFEF and

the SPPE, as well as of other financial

support provided for the banks on an

annual basis as of 2013 (General

Directorate of the Treasury and the

Agence des Participations de l’État

(French

‘Government

Shareholding

Agency’));

–

to broaden the report submitted

to the State in order to monitor the cre-

dit awarded to local and regional autho-

rities separately from credit awarded to

other ‘ local public administrations’

(General Directorate of the Treasury

and Banque de France);

–

to incorporate a permanent remu-

neration monitoring unit into the struc-

ture of the

Autorité de Contrôle

Prudentiel

and adopt an

a priori

approach to monitoring the allocation of

variable remuneration for professionals

and board members (

Autorité de

Contrôle Prudentiel

);

–

to put the incorporation of a spe-

cific provision for credit establishments

with regards to budgets for the remune-

ration of professionals and board mem-

bers to an advisory shareholders’ vote at

a general meeting (State).

recommendations

dations made with regards to staggering

payments were generally adhered to.

These regulations based on internatio-

nal recommendations are worth expan-

ding upon. The way they are applied at

international level is not yet as harmo-

nious as it could be, meaning that there

is still a risk of distortion of competi-

tion between the banks. There is cer-

tainly room for some new improve-

ments, which should be incorporated

into those texts relating specifically to

credit establishments.

The Court would therefore recom-

mend that budgets for the remuneration

of professionals and directors be put to

an advisory shareholders’ vote at a gene-

ral meeting. It would also recommend

that the

Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel

(French

‘Prudential

Supervisory

Authority’) permanently adopt an

priori

approach to monitoring the allo-

cation of remuneration rather than an

posteriori

approach.

the bank support plan

The Court and the local court of

accounts would consequently recom-

mend that the association take the fol-

lowing steps:

–

working with the current agent

to find an alternative solution based on

a more balanced set of criteria;

–

utilising the development of

inter-communal cooperation when

choosing the new method of opera-

tion.

recommendations

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

Managing the Grand nouméa

aqueduct: an inappropriate

concession

The Grand Nouméa aqueduct sup-

plements, where necessary, the water

supply available to the four towns in this

165,000-inhabitant urban area which

together

form

the

Syndicat

Intercommunal du Grand Nouméa

association of communes. Since 1998

and until 2048, SADET, a subsidiary of

La Lyonnaise des Eaux

, has been and

will be responsible for the construction

and operation of the structure. The faci-

lity was, however, over-engineered and is

only used at best to one-tenth of its

capacity.

An initial inspection carried out in

2008 by the local court of accounts

revealed that 99% of the assignee’s

remuneration had been guaranteed and

was paid for by subscribers to the water

service. With this in mind, by 2048 their

payments would account for a total of

€

800m, which is more than twelve times

the cost of the structure (

€

66m). It the-

refore requested that the contract be

modified to reduce its cost to users and

increase the risk on the part of the assi-

gnee.

An inspection carried out in 2012

revealed that the unsecured proportion

of the SADET remuneration, based on

the structure’s operating income, had

increased from 1 % to 10% of the tur-

nover.

The operating income is neverthe-

less still too low with regards to the total

remuneration. Furthermore, by means

of an endorsement signed in 2010, the

agent obtained a guarantee that once

again limited the operating risk. Finally,

the total amount of the remuneration

guaranteed at the expense of users, des-

pite having been reduced from

€

800m

€

530m, remains excessive.

The chronic under-use of the struc-

ture, the result of a combination of its

initial over-engineering and a decrease in

water consumption per inhabitant, is a

hindrance to improving the conditions

of the contract. The concession would

therefore appear clearly inappropriate

due to its cost to users and the limitation

of operating risk on the part of the

agent.

Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Court of Accounts

fighting excessive debt

among individuals:

a great deal of progress yet

to be made

Excessive debt has been on the

increase for over 20 years and now

affects some 757,000 people. Every year

over 200, 000 cases are examined by

over-indebtedness commissions, for

which regional branches of Banque de

France provide the secretarial function,

with a view to finding a way of restruc-

turing payments, reducing interest rates

or writing off the debt.

In 2010, the Court criticised the ina-

dequacy of the legal system designed to

prevent excessive debt and the lack of

appropriate management on the part of

both the State and Banque de France

that was both costly and led to inequali-

ties in the way cases were dealt with. It

recommended that the social monito-

ring of those in excessive debt be

improved.

Dealing with excessive debt

since the law of

1 July 2010

Since these findings were revealed,

the law of 1 July 2010 relating to the

reform of consumer credit has better

monitored the credit marketing process.

It also significantly altered the adminis-

trative procedure for dealing with exces-

sive debt by promoting the ‘personal

recovery procedure’.

Over-indebted households simulta-

neously continued to grow poorer,

which makes it more difficult to analyse

the reasons for over-indebtedness and

the solutions that need to be implemen-

ted to deal with them. Excessive resor-

ting to consumer credit is still a leading

factor in shaping the phenomenon, but

other factors are also now at play, inclu-

ding social difficulties, job insecurity,

and the structural shortfall.

Furthermore, despite the adjust-

ments made by the legislator, the Court

would like to reiterate several of its pre-

vious findings in 2013.

Preventing excessive debt:

a long way yet to go

Very little progress has yet been

made towards the results the legislator

hoped to achieve with regards to pre-

venting excessive debt. The protective

provisions of the 2010 law aimed at

limiting the undue restriction of credit

through the use of loyalty cards and

reinforcing the obligation on the part of

fighting excessive debt among individuals

the lender to verify the solvency of the

borrower are not yet fully adhered to by

financial institutions. Furthermore, the

decline in the consumer credit market

has failed to significantly alter the debt

profile of households that have already

applied to over-indebtedness commis-

sions. The actual preventive effects of

the ‘positive file’, which lists the finan-

cial credit awarded to all households in

order to avoid awarding credit to indivi-

duals that are already close to being in

excessive debt, can only really be asses-

sed by a cost-benefit report.

Management: better-defi-

ned guidelines and an

incomplete evaluation sys-

tem

Having previously had its weak-

nesses highlighted by the Court, the way

in which over-indebtedness is dealt with

is now better defined. Contractual rela-

tions between the State and Banque de

France have been renewed and efforts

are under way to harmonise the deci-

sions made by over-indebtedness com-

missions. There is, however, still some

progress to be made in order to better

assess the cost of excessive debt to the

State and better allocate funding for the

procedure in order to ensure that finan-

cial institutions are contributing.

A lack of efficiency in the

way applications are pro-

cessed

Applications are now processed

more quickly thanks to the new powers

attributed to over-indebtedness com-

missions (the ability to impose certain

measures and manage the ‘personal

recovery procedure without judicial

liquidation’, for example). The process

is also more consistent as a result of the

harmonisation of the rules of proce-

dure by which over-indebtedness com-

missions are governed. Nevertheless,

there are major productivity gains to be

achieved by focusing certain tasks of the

various departments of Banque de

France at regional level. Above all, the

traditional way of dealing with situa-

tions of excessive debt by seeking to

reach an amicable agreement between

creditors and debtors, which is beco-

ming decreasingly compatible with the

nature of over-indebtedness in recent

times, notably the decline in the debt-

carrying capacity of households.

Support for over-indebted

individuals

The issue of support for over-

indebted individuals is one that has been

somewhat neglected by the State as a

result of failure to make fighting over-

indebtedness a priority for public prose-

cution. The absence of social ministers

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

The Court would like to reiterate

five of its previous recommendations

that have not, or only minimally, been

acted upon to date:

–

to introduce the deduction of a

contribution from financial institu-

tions to help fund the cost of tackling

over-indebtedness, which is currently

borne by the State;

–

to separate credit cards from

store loyalty cards to ensure that no

further consumer credit can be raised

without the debtor knowing;

–

to include the prevention of

over-indebtedness and support for

over-indebted households in the

objectives set by the ministry responsi-

ble for social cohesion and in the

contractual relations that exist between

the State and the

Caisse Nationale des

Allocations

Familiales

(French

‘National Family Allowance Fund’);

–

to broaden the scope of the

annual Banque de France typological

survey by cross-referencing with

public statistics and to carry out a

series of studies, under State supervi-

sion, on the paths of those households

concerned to improve understanding

of the factors that affect over-indeb-

tedness;

–

to continue to make productivity

gains by centralising the administrative

processing of over-indebtedness cases

by Banque de France at regional level.

There are also two new recom-

mendations to add to those reiterated

above:

–

to harmonise the time it takes to

Fichier National

des Incidents de Remboursement des

Crédits

aux

Particuliers

(French

‘National Record of Incidents of

Reimbursement

Loans

Individuals’, FICP) and the duration of

recovery plans;

–

in the event of an appeal against

the personal recovery plan standpoint,

to allow for the possibility of the judge

immediately ordering that the corres-

ponding debt be written off provided

that they foresee the recommenda-

tions made by the over-indebtedness

commission being adopted.

recommendations

would indicate that the State has not as

yet set a target for reducing over-indeb-

tedness, specified any priorities with

regards to the preventive measures to be

taken or outlined the means to be imple-

mented to support those in financial dif-

ficulty. The fact that the National

Conference Against Poverty and for

Social Inclusion was held on 10 and 11

December 2012 bears testimony to the

fact that the State has only recently star-

ted to take note of such shortcomings.

fighting excessive debt among individuals

the

Centre des Monuments

Nationaux :

a belated recovery

The

Centre

des

Monuments

Nationaux

(French

‘National

Monuments Centre’, CMN), a national

public institution supervised by the

Ministry of Culture, is responsible for

the conservation and promotion of 93

national monuments, as well as opening

said monuments, which attract some 9

million visitors a year, to the public. The

centre has some 1,300 officials and an

annual budget of

€

130m,

€

60m of

which is its own capital, three-quarters

of which comes from entrance fee pro-

ceeds.

In 2010, the Court carried out a cri-

tical appraisal of the policy adopted by

the CMN since 2003. It found that ‘the

past decade highlighted the risks asso-

ciated with the interlocking of reforms

and the primacy of announcing projects

over the actual implementation thereof’.

Although some of the recommen-

dations made, such as the inclusion of

an own-capital growth curve in the per-

formance contract, have indeed been

adopted, most have been only partially

acted upon or adopted with some delay.

Since it involved awarding the esta-

blishment a ‘perennial revenue’ designed

to fund restoration work on State-

owned historic monuments for which

the CMN would be responsible, as part

of an arrangement consisting of trans-

ferring the proceeds from this new

resource back to the State by means of

agency agreements of questionable

legality, this mechanism was withdrawn

in 2008.

The establishment failed to take into

account the reform of the regime

governing the ownership of public land

by state authorities which came into

effect on 1 December 2008, which

might have resulted in the latter, in

conjunction with the ministry, modi-

fying the associated reference texts.

Furthermore, the role of the CMN

as project manager had still not been

implemented in 2010. The minister is

somewhat hesitant with regards to the

distribution of this role between regio-

nal departments for cultural affairs, the

Établissement

Public

Maîtrise

d’Ouvrage

des

Travaux

Culturels

(French ‘Public Contracting Body for

Cultural Works’, EMOC), the

Service

National des Travaux

(French ‘National

Works Office’, SNT) and the CMN.

The management system in place is

also still less rigorous than it needs to be

and is notably characterised by the

absence of a contract between the

CMN and the State, a less-than-ambi-

tious level of own capital and the

absence of performance indicators.

Finally, the conditions under which

local and regional authorities were gran-

ted the possibility of demanding that

historic monuments belonging to the

State be returned remain a persistent

source of uncertainty within the scope

of action of the CMN.

Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

the

Centre des Monuments Nationaux

The Court must therefore reiterate

its previous recommendations, parti-

cularly those relating to the following

measures:

–

updating the statutory definition

and the scope of the monuments for

which the CMN is responsible;

–

altering their status with regards

to the new regime governing the

ownership of public land by state

authorities;

–

putting the establishment’s pro-

ject management capabilities to full

use and putting an end to the underu-

tilisation of its maintenance and resto-

ration credits.

Furthermore, the Court would

recommend that the CMN and its

administrative body continue the as-

yet limited progress made in terms of

management in accordance with the

recommendations made in 2010,

which included the following:

–

to introduce cost management

tools;

–

to award the establishment a

more demanding level of own capital;

–

to use the establishment’s excess

financial resources to restore monu-

ments.

Finally, the Court would recom-

mend that the following steps be

taken:

–

to re-examine the allocation of a

fraction of the proceeds from the tax

on online gaming, which has proven

rather unsuitable for the needs of the

CMN and detrimental to budgetary

control and consolidation.

recommendations

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the Public Planning

Authority of La Défense

Seine Arche (EPADESA):

an as-yet poorly defined

pooling of expertise and

uncertain prospects

The

Etablissement

Public

d’Aménagement de la Défense

(‘Pubic

Planning Authority of La Défense’,

EPAD) was created in 1958 and has

since

undergone

some

significant

changes. Its operations got a boost in

July 2006 with the launch of the La

Défense renewal plan, whilst its struc-

ture and operation underwent major

changes with the cessation of its public

facility operation activities in 2009 and

its merger with the

Etablissement Public

d’Aménagement Seine Arche

(‘Public

Planning Authority of Seine Arche’,

EPASA), which resulted in the creation

the

Etablissement

Public

d’Aménagement de La Défense Seine

Arche

(‘Public Planning Authority of La

Défense Seine Arche’, EPADESA) in

December 2010.

A somewhat insecure legal

system

The transfer of its operational acti-

vities to local public establishment

Defacto, created in 2007, rectified one

irregularity, which allowed developers to

operate public facilities rather than han-

ding them over to the towns in question.

The EPAD nevertheless continued to

oversee this branch of its operations

until 2008 with no financial compensa-

tion.

The terms governing the transfer of

the activity from the EPADESA to

Defacto were outlined in a statement

but the two establishments differ in

terms of their interpretation of this

document, particularly with regards to

the extent of the rights granted to

Defacto as owner of the transferred

assets, the scope of the obligation to

restore the properties in question to

their original state and their respective

powers in terms of development opera-

tions. Several of these sources of dis-

sension were referred to the administra-

tive judge.

Major restraints hindering

development activities

The public authorities decided to

make the EPAD responsible for the cost

of restoring the public facilities transfer-

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

the Public Planning Authority of

La Défense Seine Arche (EPADESA)

red to Defacto to their original state, as

well as the upgrading of the covered

roadways concerned to the appropriate

standards, at a total cost of over

€

350m

for the decade.

Furthermore, there is a great deal of

uncertainty surrounding the work sche-

dule for major transport-related projects

and the establishment could find itself

requested by the public authorities to

financially provide for their completion.

The EPADESA remains dependent

upon the communal choices that are

made with regards to town planning,

which would appear to be incompatible

with the development of the site of

national interest that is La Défense.

Finally, the establishment has not drawn

up any form of strategic plan outlining

a global vision shared by local and

neighbouring authorities, whereas its

scope of intervention is already part of

the Grand Paris initiative.

Efforts to be maintained in

terms of governance

Accounting has been upgraded and

the merger of the two planning authori-

ties has also resulted in improvements

being made to the previously highly

defective governance system and the

implementation of various management

tools. There is, however, still a degree of

conflict within the Board of Directors

and objectionable management prac-

tices are still used, particularly where

human resources, communications and

representation are concerned.

over-optimistic financial

prospects

The multi-year financial forecasts

already produced by the establishment

are based on an optimistic view of the

evolution of the property market, inves-

tors’ interest in the business district and

its own ability to create attractive new

projects.

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the Public Planning Authority of

La Défense Seine Arche (EPADESA)

In the present context, and with

regards to the EPADESA’s mission as

a planner, the Court would make the

following recommendations:

For the State:

–

to quickly review the legislation,

regulations and contractual provisions

governing relations between the EPA-

DESA and Defacto, notably for the

purposes of putting an end to the dis-

putes arising between the two authori-

ties and to resolve the issue of the allo-

cation of public spaces and facilities

and the distribution of the financial

cost of restoring them to their original

state;

–

to resort to the ‘project of gene-

ral interest’ procedure in the event of

any obstacles likely to hinder the deve-

lopment of the site;

For the EPADESA:

–

to adopt a strategic document

reflecting a vision shared by all those

involved in the future of the area, in

accordance with the ruling of 8

September 2011.

With regards to the way in which

the establishment is managed, the

Court would make the following

recommendations aimed at the EPA-

DESA:

–

to relaunch an ‘operations com-

mittee’ to keep the board of directors

up to date with development opera-

tions;

–

to improve the quality of budget

forecasts and the information associa-

ted with them;

–

to incorporate a series of rules

and limits for the individual wage

increases of executives and directors

into staff regulations;

–

to reduce communication and

representation costs, notably by limi-

ting the reimbursement of travel

expenses to officials whose positions

justify them travelling only and by

continuing efforts to pool promotional

expenses with other public planning

authorities and Defacto;

–

to better distinguish between

potential operations and revenue (ope-

rations in the pipeline and incentive

clauses) and projects currently under

way when producing final forecasts.

recommendations

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Court of Accounts

occupational accidents and

illnesses:

weaknesses in the general

social security regime’s

prevention policy

Ten years after its 2002 report on

managing the risk of occupational acci-

dents and illnesses, the Court analysed

the developments in the contribution

made to this field by the occupational

accidents and illnesses division of the

general social security regime managed

by the

Caisse Nationale d’Assurance

Maladie

des

Travailleurs

Salariés

(French ‘National Health Insurance

Fund for Salaried Workers’, CNAMTS).

Poorly-targeted priorities

The statistical tools used are not uni-

form across the fields (occupational or

commuting accidents and occupational

illnesses) since the different risks invol-

ved are not defined by the same indica-

tors and make it impossible to establish

a hierarchy between serious but less fre-

quent risks and less serious but more

frequent risks.

Should the branch take into account

the cost of the risk, that is all of the

expenses generated by accidents, this

would enable it to avoid the drawbacks

of current indicators and provide it with

a series of comparison tools which both

apply to all of the different risks invol-

ved and are consistent in that they are all

expressed in euros.

Using this indicator, which would be

consistent with the insurance-based

approach that the branch has always

adopted, would make it easier to target

sector-specific priorities and preventive

measures and to measure the results. It

would also help put into perspective the

significance of some of the priorities

the branch is currently pursuing, such as

musculoskeletal problems and psycho-

social risks. The former are, in fact,

common, more so in France than in

other similar countries, but have a limi-

ted face value and would appear to be

largely diagnosed by a series of condi-

tions which, until a recent reform, albeit

partial, were not very restrictive. The lat-

ter, which are both poorly-defined and

come in various different forms, should

have been rigorously analysed and iden-

tified, failing which it is not really possi-

ble to prevent them.

A resource allocation

system that does not

reflect the risks

The distribution of resources (both

financial and human) allocated to the

prevention policy only very vaguely

reflects the map of risks identified. With

this in mind, financial incentives - limi-

occupational accidents and illnesses

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

ted, incidentally, to a small amount

(

€

56m in 2010) - should be better targe-

ted, notably with regards to prevention

contracts reserved for companies with

fewer than 200 employees, whereas

those with around 50 employees have

the highest claim rate.

The geographical

distribution of staff devoted to preven-

tion activities (nearly 800 agents) would

appear to be poorly correlated with pre-

vention needs in that the cost of the

risk, in terms of millions of euros per

agent, varies by a factor of 1 to 6 bet-

ween funds in the Antilles funds and

that of Marseille.

Insufficient results

The claim rate of companies and

establishments where special efforts

have been made to prevent incidents is

still not making any better progress than

that of other companies. The results

achieved for a number of priority mea-

sures would appear to fall below the

objectives set or at least to be very limi-

ted, meaning that the measure relating

to occupational cancers is not expected

to reach 70 % of the anticipated target

and the programme relating to road risk

does not take into account the main

causes of accidents, namely speed and

drug or alcohol consumption.

Preventing occupational accidents

and illnesses should be considered an

investment and be based on objective

analyses that are as rigorous as possible

in methodological terms. The preven-

tion policy needs to be more accurately

managed, its priorities more firmly defi-

ned and its results more rigorously eva-

luated for the purposes of the objectives

and management agreement that the

branch is shortly due to sign with the

State.

–

to adopt the cost of the risk as a

primary statistical indicator of claim

rates;

–

to extend the recent reform of

musculoskeletal problems in the shoul-

der to include other musculoskeletal

problems (elbow, wrist, hand, finger

and knee);

–

to focus financial support on

companies with between 30 and 70

employees;

–

to align the prevention staff

employed by the

Caisses

with the geo-

graphical distribution of claims;

–

to focus the efforts of the

Caisses d’Assurance Retraite et de

Santé au Travail

(French ‘Retirement

and Occupational Health Insurance

Funds’, CARSAT) on companies expe-

riencing high levels of incidents (follo-

wing the example of the

Points noirs et

gris

approach adopted by the Midi

Pyrénées CARSAT) ;

–

to target preventive measures at

the most frequent causes of road acci-

dents.

recommendations

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

Public health teleservices:

still unsatisfactory

management

An uneven rise in power

A teleservice is an information sys-

tem which enables users to take action

by electronic means. Such services and

the number of people using them are on

the increase in the health sector, notably

thanks to the SESAM-Vitale system

(which reimburses some 1.3 billion elec-

tronic treatment forms every year) and

the

Dossier

Pharmaceutique

(‘Pharmaceutical Record’), which aims

to limit the risks associated with drug

use and affects some 18.5 million users.

The

Dossier Médical Personnel

(French

‘Personal Medical Record’, DMP) provi-

ded for by a 2004 law has, however, suf-

fered various delays, with only 260,000

such records currently open in autumn

2012.

Insufficient progress

The Court had requested that the

consistency and efficiency of teleser-

vices be improved back in 2008. Indeed,

some progress has since been made and

the map and shared directory of health

professionals have been implemented.

The

deployment

the

Dossier

Pharmaceutique

has also been wides-

pread and a secure messaging service is

due to be launched in 2013.

There are, however, still a number of

obstacles that need to be overcome.

Delays are, in fact, affecting the formu-

lation of shared frames of reference,

software certification, the securing of

data and even the modernisation of

health professionals’ workstation confi-

gurations. Above all, the DMP requires

prompt evaluation in terms of targeting

and deployment, as is the case for some

184 other regional projects developed

simultaneously under the impetus of

regional health agencies.

the absence of a common

strategy

In 2010, the Ministry for Health

and the

Caisse Nationale d’Assurance

Maladie

des

Travailleurs

Salariés

(French ‘National Health Insurance

Fund for Salaried Workers’) made the

decision to eventually replace the

SESAM-Vitale system with a teleser-

vices platform designed and managed

by the

Caisse Nationale

. This decision

was, in itself, essential, but it also

brought with it the abandonment of the

previously shared strategy adopted by

both the compulsory and additional

health insurance regimes and which had

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Public health teleservices

contributed to the success of the sys-

tem.

This, in turn, resulted in discord bet-

ween the compulsory and additional

regimes that was aggravated by short-

term visibility (less than two years) of

the developments under way within the

Caisse Nationale

In more general terms, the auto-

nomy strategy adopted by the latter

reveals a detrimental lack of strong and

coordinated management of teleser-

vices on the part of the Ministry for

Health.

the flawed financial moni-

toring of the

Dossier

Médical Personnel

The lack of accurate financial mana-

gement makes it impossible to consoli-

date the amount of public funds alloca-

ted to the

Dossier Médical Personnel

(French ‘Personal Medical Record’) and

the electronic patient files compiled in

certain hospitals. The Court has estima-

ted that the DMP cost at least

€

210m

between 2004 and 2011, although this

figure does not include all of the asso-

ciated systems, notably the electronic

patient records compiled by some hos-

pitals. This demonstrates an abnormal

lack of strategy and a lack of methodi-

cal continuity in the implementation of

tools designed to bring about deep

structural reform.

taking the industrial aspect

into greater consideration

The Court would highlight the need

to take into account the concerns

expressed by industry representatives in

the field of public health teleservices.

Manufacturers believe that there is

still too little consultation with the

ministry and the healthcare sector with

regards to medium-term perspectives

and the regulatory and pricing changes

that need to be implemented in the very

short-term. They are calling for greater

visibility, which is essential to their deve-

lopment strategies in terms of adapta-

tion, competitiveness and the profitabi-

lity of their tools.

The Court finds it particularly

concerning that these multiple weak-

nesses have still not been rectified, des-

pite the fact that it has drawn attention

to the risks associated with such a situa-

tion, in terms of both spiralling costs

and failing to achieve all of the objec-

tives set, on several occasions.

Public health teleservices

The Court would reiterate most of

its previous recommendations, notably

those relating to security, and would

make the following eight new recom-

mendations:

With regards to the overall mana-

gement of health teleservices:

–

to merge the control of strategic

teleservice project management func-

tions, whether directly or indirectly

related to health insurance, within the

central administration of the minis-

tries responsible for health and social

security;

–

to guarantee the interoperability

of the CNAMTS teleservices platform

with the information systems of addi-

tional health insurance agencies; and

–

with this in mind, to reinstate a

dialogue between all of the regimes

concerned with regards to amalgama-

ting their teleservices.

With regards to the

Dossier

Médical Personnel

more specifically:

–

to publish the decree outlining

the content and scope of the

Dossier

Médical Personnel

;

–

to formalise the strategy, method

and schedule for interoperability bet-

ween the

Dossier Médical Personnel

and patients’ hospital records ;

–

to have a protocol outlining the

terms and the schedule for merging

the

Dossier Médical Personnel

and the

Dossier Pharmaceutique

drawn up

between the

Ordre des Pharmaciens

(French ‘Pharmaceutical Society’) and

the ASIP Santé general interest group;

–

to allow for the systematic inte-

gration of the

Dossier Médical

Personnel

into the framework of the

traditional policy of the

Caisse

Nationale de l’Assurance Maladie des

Travailleurs Salariés

(French ‘National

Health Insurance Fund for Salaried

Workers’) with regards to the liberal

healthcare professions;

–

to identify the costs associated

with the

Dossier Médical Personnel

and the medico-economic evaluation

thereof in terms of improving the

efficiency of the care system and the

health insurance-related savings to be

made.

recommendations

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Court of Accounts

the CnED: a public establishment

that is poorly-adapted to online

training

The

Centre

National

d’Enseignement à Distance

(French

‘National Centre for Distance Learning’,

CNED) was created in 1939 and pro-

vides distance training programmes as

part of the individual’s initial and pro-

fessional training. This public institution

operates at all levels of both school and

higher education and is notably respon-

sible for providing the public distance

learning service, aimed at pupils who

cannot attend a school in person, on

behalf of the State.

In 2005, the Court observed a signi-

ficant decrease in the number of pupils

registered with the CNED and alerted

the Ministry for Education by means of

a report highlighting the weaknesses of

the legal framework outlining the activi-

ties of the CNED. Indeed, in 2007, the

Court noted that the guidelines announ-

ced by the ministry were a step in the

right direction. Five years later, however,

the Court noted that these commit-

ments had not necessarily been honou-

red, with the exception of a few limited

changes implemented with some delay.

the consistent and concer-

ning decline in the number

of enrolments

Worryingly, the CNED lost half of

its registered pupils in just 15 years

the number fell from 400,000 to

200, 000.

A lack of cost accounting has

meant that it is still not in a position to

know the respective costs of its market

activities and its public service activities.

As a result, there are no grounds on

which to base the amount of the grant

for public service charges that it receives

from the State, charges invoiced for the

public service and the rates it charges in

the market. Neither is the establishment

in a position to appropriately manage its

human resources and develop them to

reflect its needs, insofar as they consist

largely of around a thousand teachers

who are no longer capable of teaching

before a class.

the CnED (‘french national

Centre for Distance Learning’)

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

the unsatisfactory imple-

mentation of the public dis-

tance learning service

Furthermore, the definition of the

public distance learning service provi-

ded by a 2009 decree remains vague and

more restrictive than that of the public

education service. The issue of cost-free

education has been left to the discretion

of the body concerned and limited to

the period of compulsory schooling; on

the whole, for example, a pupil of over

sixteen years of age and with the same

academic background will benefit from

cost-free education if they attend a

school but will be charged a fee if they

have to enrol with the CNED, which

represents an infringement of the prin-

ciple of equal treatment.

An inadequate educational

charter aimed at moving

towards online training

The CNED and its administrative

body recently announced a strategic reo-

rientation towards the world of online

training, which clashes with the fragile

nature of the human, technical and edu-

cational means currently available to the

establishment. The Court believes this

educational charter to be inadequate

since the CNED cannot, in its current

state, be the leading player in online trai-

ning. Given that this change is likely to

significantly alter the approach adopted

by the school and university education

systems, the State must lead a good deal

of global strategic thought on the mat-

ter beforehand, prior to determining the

position the CNED might occupy in

this context.

The bill relating to the guidelines

and scheduling for the reorganisation of

the

École de la République

treats digital

learning and distance learning, services

which can notably be provided by the

CNED and the

Centre National de

Documentation Pédagogique

(French

‘National Centre for educational mate-

rials, CNDP), as the same public service.

As a result, the operational terms of this

reform have not yet been determined at

this stage, and neither have the condi-

tions that would enable the CNED to

embrace this new direction and make a

success of it.

Furthermore, the CNED should

not be seen to be relentlessly forging

ahead in terms of its progression within

the professional training market, whe-

reas the establishment would not have

the necessary assets to gain a foothold

in this market.

A strategy to be based on

pupils’ needs and on a rea-

listic appraisal of the CnED

Meeting the needs of users of the

public distance learning service, which

must be modernised, and using the

expertise that comes with distance lear-

ning to also meet the needs of schools

and public education policy should,

however, be prioritised. With this in

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

- To the French Ministry for

National Education:

–

to specify the scope of the public

distance learning service and the issue

of not charging for it in a manner that

is consistent with the provisions appli-

cable to the public school education

service;

–

to specify objectives for and the

terms governing the integration of

online training into school education

and consider the consequences thereof

in the multi-year agreement;

–

to determine, in this context, the

content of any tasks that may be

entrusted to the CNED with regards to

online training and the corresponding

terms relating to coordinating the esta-

blishment with other players and

decentralised

national

education

departments;

–

to adapt the staff resources avai-

lable to the CNED to the missions out-

lined as above.

- To the CNED:

–

to implement, with immediate

effect, a cost accounting system that

helps both identify costs and justify the

grant for public service charges;

–

to redefine the training offering,

first and foremost, based on the identi-

fication of users’ needs with regards to

the public service.

recommendations

the CnED (‘french national

Centre for Distance Learning’)

mind, no changes should be overlooked,

whether they involve creating synergies

of means and organisation between the

CNED and other national players in the

school education sector, such as the

CNDP, or better coordinating the work

of the CNED and the activities that

take place at all decentralised levels of

national education (academies and

school establishments).

The State must base its actions on a

realistic appraisal of the CNED and a

fair assessment of the needs that must

be met for the sake of the school’s

future success.

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Court of Accounts

france’s international broadcas-

ting industry: a costly and chaotic

reform

In its 2009 annual public report, the

Court

devoted

entire

chapter

to ‘France’s international broadcasting

industry’ following an examination of

the accounts and management practices

of the three public corporations that

contribute to France’s international acti-

vity in the broadcasting industry,

namely Radio France Internationale

(RFI), TV5 Monde and France 24. The

government had, at the time, recently

adopted a reform of this sector with the

creation of the

Audiovisuel Extérieur

de la France

(AEF) holding company

responsible for the shares the State

holds in these companies in 2008. The

Court had focused its recommendations

on supporting this reform by identifying

four priorities, namely strengthening the

way in which the AEF was run, mana-

ging its financial balance, developing

synergies between its various compo-

nents and clarifying its targets in terms

of audience and broadcast media.

In reality, none of these recommen-

dations were actually implemented and

the AEF suffered a chaotic progression

and serious financial problems as a

result.

A company with no strate-

gic framework

The position of the AEF within

France’s international policy has not yet

been clarified, and the Ministry for

Foreign Affairs, the normal supervisory

body for the AEF, has not really played

a significant role. Despite it being a legal

obligation, no aims and means agree-

ment was signed between the AEF and

the State due to the stalemate that deve-

loped between the former Chief

Executive of the AEF and the regula-

tory authorities. The absence of such an

agreement is highly irregular and should

have resulted in the State having to deal

with the usual consequences of this

obstruction.

A major financial drift

The reform of the AEF resulted in

significant additional costs. At no point

has the AEF been able to present any

reliable and realistic business plans or

increase the power of its advertising

resources. Due to ever-increasing needs

for funding and an ever-delayed reform,

the State had to allocate to the AEF

additional credit amounting to some

€

100m between 2009 and 2011, in addi-

tion to its annual contributions. These

additional payments were allocated

france’s international broadcasting industry

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

when RFI was recapitalised (

€

16.9m),

when the plan to relocate RFI close to

France 24 was implemented (

€

21.5m),

when the two job protection plans were

implemented (

€

65.5m) and when TV5

Monde underwent a tax adjustment pro-

cedure (

€

6.5m).

Such exceptional aid, which is less

than ideal with regards to the public

finance situation, should, however, be

limited.

€

314.2m has been allocated to

the initial finance law for 2012, that is a

reduction of nearly 16%. The initial

finance law for 2013, meanwhile,

recommends that this effort to reduce

the figure be suspended by maintaining

this amount, whilst the 2013-2015 three-

year plan predicts a decrease of only

0.3% in 2014 and 0.4% in 2015.

Diffident synergies

The creation of synergies between

the various components of the AEF has

been hampered by delays resulting nota-

bly from staff opposition to the merger

of RFI and France 24. The reorganisa-

tion announced in February 2012 would

see the former radio, television and mul-

timedia information departments of

RFI and France 24 merged into a single

information department for the pur-

poses of developing the complementary

relationship between the different

media. It was intended to outline a set of

cross-disciplinary editorial guidelines,

draw up a standardised programme

schedule and produce all of the content

of the programmes to be broadcast.

The initiative, however, provoked a

great deal of opposition from the staff

of the corporations involved and the

government cancelled the merger of the

France 24 and RFI information depart-

ments. This turnaround led to the new

standardised programme schedule being

reconsidered and left no option but to

reintroduce the former schedules adop-

ted by RFI and France 24. According to

the information received by the Court,

an additional cost of some

€

3.5m was

consequently incurred over the course

of a full year.

As a result of these delays, the relo-

cation of RFI to a building adjoining

that of France 24, which was due to take

place in late March 2012, was postponed

until June 2012. Following the morato-

rium issued at the request of the

government in June and July 2012, the

schedule had to be put back yet again

and the current objective is to complete

the relocation in early 2013. Significant

additional costs have already been incur-

red as a result of the physical relocation

currently under way. With regards to the

original budget of

€

24.9m, the drift now

stands at

€

10.6m (+ 43%) as a result of

double rent (+

€

2.8m), building develop-

ment (+

€

5.7m) and costs (+

€

2.1m).

Finally, the AEF has seen its

audiences increase with some 92 million

listeners and viewers in 2011 as opposed

to 45 million in 2008, not including TV5

Monde, which attracts an audience of

some 50 million people a week. This

success, however, has brought with it

production and broadcasting costs that,

given the current public finance situa-

tion, the State is unable to cover. The

AEF is faced with a series of decisions

that it must make in order to outline its

geographical and technological targets

and to raise the funding required to

achieve its goals.

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

–

to assign full responsibility for

outlining the strategic directions of this

corporation within the international

industry to the Ministry for Foreign

Affairs;

–

to target priority geographical

and technological areas by decisively

taking possession of the multimedia

field;

–

to sign, with immediate effect, an

aims and means contract that complies

with the public finance programming

law;

–

to maintain the synergies that

exist, including in the editorial field,

whilst completing the physical reloca-

tion and aiming to make substantial

savings in terms of resources by

increasing harmonisation between the

various divisions of the AEF.

recommendations

france’s international broadcasting industry

the

Caisse des Congés

Spectacles:

a special system which is

still flawed

The

Congés Spectacles

fund is the

employer association responsible for

managing the special system governing

the paid leave of temporary workers in

the entertainment industry. It collects

contributions from employers and gives

its members annual holiday pay as of

May each year. This joint system

detracts from general law governing

short-term contracts, whereby paid holi-

day leave of at least 10% is paid in addi-

tion to the salary paid at the end of each

contract.

An inspection of the fund’s manage-

ment systems carried out by the Court

over the course of the 2006 to 2011

financial years revealed the persistent

malfunctions already identified in 2008

and highlighted in the 2009 annual

public report, particularly the non-pay-

ment of a substantial volume of the

allowances due.

Continuing serious mal-

functions

As of 2007, the fund started to

apply a series of simplification measures

to their holiday request procedures

which resulted in the acceleration of

payments in the year following the ves-

ting period.

Nevertheless, the definitive propor-

tion of non-payment of allowances due,

which was over 8% in March 2006, had

deteriorated further five years after the

end of the vesting period, reaching

9.9% in March 2011. Admittedly, this

rate later decreased to 6.5 % by March

2012, but the available data suggests

that, in the current climate, it will remain

above 5%, closer to 6%.

Between 2006

and 2011, definitively unpaid allowances

amounted to

€

102m, that is, on average,

8.8% of the allowances due.

Non-pay-

ment of allowances affects those less

active workers in the entertainment

industry in particular.

Furthermore, the fund continues to

incorrectly apply the additional standard

deduction for professional expenses

from the remuneration paid to certain

categories of technician working in the

cinema sector, which, in some cases, has

the effect of decreasing the individual’s

additional pension contributions. It also

continues not to pay certain compulsory

social charges, such as transport tax.

An inadequate manage-

ment system

The fund recorded deficits in the

paid leave system (charges greater than

the total of the contributions received

and any investment income) between

2007 and 2010, which resulted in it

increasing the employer contribution

rate from 14.25% to 15.2% between

2008 and 2012. Fixed costs did not

Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

significantly decrease, despite the proce-

dural simplifications that had been

implemented.

Personnel costs per agent greatly

increased between 2007 and 2011, nota-

bly as a result of wage increases which

greatly exceeded the increases outlined

the

collective

agreement.

Management team remuneration increa-

sed even more rapidly than that of other

employees. The gross salary of the

Executive Officer, which had already

been fixed at a high level, was further

increased on two occasions under suspi-

cious conditions, without the fund’s

chairman knowing.

The complete overhaul of the infor-

mation system was poorly-managed,

given that it notably concerned applica-

tions

dedicated

monitoring

employers, the final cost of which was

more than double that of the initial

contracts and which were implemented

a year and a half later than originally

planned. The developments required to

accurately calculate the deduction for

professional expenses and transport tax

have not been implemented.

A reform that has been

announced but not yet

implemented

In the wake of the already concer-

ning observations made by the Court in

2008, the ministries responsible for

employment and culture had entrusted

the Inspectorates General of Social

Affairs and of Cultural Affairs with the

task of examining the feasibility of

various potential reforms. Following the

submission of two reports, the govern-

ment announced, in November 2009,

that it would be maintaining the special

system governing holiday leave for tem-

porary workers in the entertainment

industry and transferring the operatio-

nal management thereof to social pro-

tection group AUDIENS.

Three years later, the announced

transfer has still not been implemented

for a variety of legal and social reasons.

the

Caisse des Congés Spectacles

(french paid annual leave scheme for temporary

workers in the entertainment industry)

The validity of the special regime,

which has been neither sufficiently

reformed nor entrusted to a player dee-

med to be better-qualified, as was the

wish of the State, since the previous

inspection carried out by the Court,

has still not been proven.

The Court would recommend that

the rules of common law be applied,

i.e. that the allowances due be paid

directly by the employer, and thus that

the fund be eliminated.

recommendation

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the Cap’Découverte com-

plex in Carmaux (tarn): a

persistently severe deficit

and an essential reduction

in commercial activity

In its 2007 annual public report, the

Court of Accounts highlighted the

lapses resulting from the implementa-

tion of the Cap’Découverte project

which involved the redevelopment of a

mining site in Carmaux (Tarn) at a cost

€

55m excl. tax, which was later

increased to

€

66m excl. tax.

Five years after the site became ope-

rational, the regional court of Midi-

Pyrénées and the Court of Accounts

decided to review the results of the pro-

ject and check on the progress made fol-

lowing their recommendations.

The

Cap’Découverte

complex,

which is open to the public, covers some

680ha and is home to various initiatives

and activities, some run directly by a

public-private entity, others by a private

company operating by means of a

public service delegation.

results falling well short of

expectations

In terms of traffic, initial forecasts

predicted some 660,000 charged admis-

sions, resulting in the creation of 250

direct and 1,000 indirect jobs, either

through the setting up of new business

in the region or the expansion of exis-

ting ones.

In 2012, however, with regards to

the ‘ sport and leisure’ aspect, despite

the forecasts anticipating 375,000 char-

ged admissions in 2000, admissions rea-

ched only 97,000, 73, 500 of which were

charged, that is more than five times less

than expected.

Where the ‘performance’ aspect is

concerned, the

Maison de la Musique

attracted 20,000 visitors, whereas initial

forecasts anticipated some 113,000

admissions, that is more than five times

less than expected.

In socio-economic terms, the direct

jobs created have so far amounted to 21

tenured positions, with regards to the

public-private entity, and 16 permanent

positions for the assignee. As far as crea-

ting jobs is concerned, no hotel compa-

nies or other businesses chose to open

branches at the site.

This difference in traffic levels in

relation to the initial forecasts repre-

sents a substantial operating deficit for

the local taxpayer which amounted to

some

€

4.6m in 2012.

This deficit is

currently being covered by the local and

regional authorities concerned, the

Conseil Général du Tarn

, the

Conseil

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

the Cap’Découverte complex in Carmaux (tarn)

Régional de Midi-Pyrénées

and the

Syndicat de la Découverte

reducing commercial

activity levels

Given its land-locked location and

the increasing competitiveness within

the sector, and despite efforts on the

part of local players, the structure of the

Cap’Découverte site is simply not

attractive enough to foresee any signifi-

cant development in its commercial acti-

vity, which it would therefore be worth

considering reducing or even ceasing

altogether.

Observations made with regards to

the operation of Cap’Découverte might

be combined with those made in the

2012 public report on the Parc Minier

Tellure mining site in the Val d’Argent

(Haut-Rhin). In addition to the need to

exercise great caution in forecasting

traffic levels, the Court and the regional

courts of accounts would underline the

fact that, with regards to any decisions

involving public funds, the precautio-

nary principle and the reality principle

shall prevail. The phasing of the opera-

tions involved must, where appropriate,

allow for gradual investment.

–

to reduce, or even cease altoge-

ther, the commercial activity overseen

by the assignee (zip-lining, water-

skiing, downhill slopes) in order to

reduce operating costs and, as a result,

the amount of the deficit. This should

be reduced to such a level that would

enable it to be managed by those towns

that are members of the

Syndicat de la

Découverte

only.

recommendations

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

Court of Accounts

Bussy-Saint-Georges

(Seine-et-Marne):

a persistent refusal of

financial recovery

In its 2007 public report, the Court

had referred to the fragile situation of

Bussy-Saint-Georges, a town in the new

city of Marne-la-Vallée, which is also

characterised by an accumulation of

questionable budgetary and accounting

practices aimed at concealing the reality

of its financial situation and overcoming

the routine administrative management

rules that apply.

The regional court of accounts was

therefore asked to issue 29 budget

notices based on referrals by the prefect

of Seine-et-Marne since 2003.

the impact of the new

city’s development policy

The population of the town increa-

sed more than ten-fold in 15 years, from

1,500 inhabitants in 1990 to nearly

22,000 in 2008 (date of the last census).

The Court revealed that the strong

demographic growth of Bussy-Saint-

Georges had resulted in a need to create

public facilities. Developing the town

under the

Opération d’Intérêt National

(French

‘Operation

National

Interest’, OIN) regime enabled it to

benefit from various advantageous fun-

ding tools until 2007. This funding did

not, however, succeed in curbing the

deterioration in the town’s financial

situation.

Given the town’s inability to cope

with its funding needs, the State lowered

its rate of intervention and withdrew

the most beneficial systems.

This communal area nevertheless

remains a significant factor in develo-

ping the landholdings to the east of

Paris. A new programme involving the

construction of 4,500 homes in a mixed

housing development area (ZAC) was

definitively adopted in September 2012

and will take the town’s population to

over 32,000 inhabitants.

A management system that

is still too lenient

An examination of the accounts

reveals serious breaches of the budge-

tary and accounting rules that apply.

The town periodically side-steps the

fundamental rules of assigning costs for

a given financial year and conceals

invoices it is unable to pay. The amount

of old invoices carried over to the next

financial year in 2010, for example, is

estimated to stand at some

€

5.2m.

As a result of financial deteriora-

tion, tax rates had to be doubled bet-

ween 2006 and 2011, and far from cur-

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

Bussy-Saint-Georges

(Seine-et-Marne)

bing its expenditure, the town continues

to run further into debt.

Indeed,

the

outstanding

debt

amounted to over

€

70m in 2011. Unable

to resort to any new conventional bank

loans, the city has signed various public-

private partnership agreements in an

attempt to boost its investment policy,

increasing its debt by

€

42m in the pro-

cess. Its total debt is currently estimated

at some

€

112m.

The questionable nature of the rele-

vant budgetary documentation has been

emphasised by the town’s desire to sys-

tematically bypass efforts to monitor

budgetary laws.

The municipal council adopts initial

measures designed to redress the

balance put forward by the court and

implements the budget set by prefectu-

ral order. It is often the case, however,

that it subsequently votes to adopt

modification decisions which restore the

original budget items or generate new

expenditure.

For Bussy-Saint-Georges:

–

to put an end to the questionable

budgetary and accounting practices

observed;

–

to decisively drive the town’s

financial recovery using the growth in

its operating revenue.

Furthermore, with regards to the

State, the Cour would reiterate its

recommendation that the chapters of

the

Code Général des Collectivités

Territoriales

(French ‘General Code of

Local Authorities’) be modified for the

following reasons:

–

to make statements and prefec-

tural orders relating to local budgets

publicly available as soon as they are

issued, without having to wait for the

deliberative assembly to meet, as is

currently the case;

–

to be able to hold the authorising

officer responsible before the

Cour de

Discipline Budgétaire et Financière

the event of a serious failure in the

implementation of a budgetary adjust-

ment should it fall outside of the limits

of the orders issued by the prefect to

adjust the budget;

–

to ensure that the deliberative

body is bound by a series of provi-

sions ordered by the prefect with

regards to settling the budget or in the

event that the authority has initially

adopted the recovery measures put

forward by the regional court, with no

possibility of it being challenged by

any modification decision to re-esta-

blish any previously withdrawn credit

or by a decision to reduce tax rates.

recommendations

Court of Accounts

Basse-terre public

abattoir (Guadeloupe):

seven years of deficit

The activities of the Basse-Terre

abattoir located in Baillif, Guadeloupe,

were suspended in 2004 as a result of a

failure to upgrade its operations to meet

standards that an appropriate pricing

structure would have enabled to ensure

the depreciation of the facilities. Whilst

one of the

raisons d’être

of an abattoir

in Basse-Terre is to fight illegal slaughte-

ring by maintaining a local framework, it

would be 2008, that is more than four

years later, before the

Syndicat Mixte

Intercommunal de l’Abattoir de la

Basse-Terre

(‘Inter-communal Public-

Private Entity of the Basse-Terre

Abattoir’, SMIARBT) would decide to

build a new abattoir in Gourbeyre, a

town less than 10km away, rather than

to regenerate the abattoir in Baillif.

Whilst the cost of re-commissioning the

former site had been estimated at less

than

€

4m, constructing this new facility

cost some

€

7m.

the unproven benefits of

the new facility

Despite the cost of building this

new abattoir, it has not yet been proven

that it will reflect the needs expressed,

whilst the running of the new site is

expected to create a large deficit and

could, in the event of failure to adopt an

appropriate pricing structure, require a

50%

public

aid

contribution.

Furthermore, it appears to be running at

overcapacity, when there is already a

public abattoir in Grande-Terre, owned

by the Department of Guadeloupe.

Moreover, despite the fact that it

was supposed to open in 2011, the abat-

toir was still not operational by late

2012, that is more than three years after

work began; works were still not fully

completed, particularly those involving

the waste treatment plant, the site had

still not been connected to the drinking

water network, a move which had been

rejected by the Basse-Terre township

committee, and

there was still no sustai-

nable operating solution in place.

Shared responsibility

Responsibility for this situation lies

primarily with the

Syndicat Mixte

which,

as a result of setting the pricing struc-

ture for the former Baillif abattoir at an

artificially low level, deprived itself of

the means to continually update its faci-

lities and prevent the suspension of acti-

vity at the site in 2004.

The region, for its part, seems to

have hampered plans to regenerate the

former Baillif abattoir following the

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the

Court of Accounts

Summaries

of the Annual Public Report produced by the Court of Accounts

suspension of activity at the site and

delayed the implementation of an alter-

native solution by demanding ownership

of the project.

Despite the numerous reminders

and formal notices issued by the project

owner’s representative and the project

managers, the company responsible for

building the new abattoir has failed to

honour its obligations.

The State departments bear some of

the responsibility with regards to the

delays that have affected the construc-

tion of the new abattoir. By deciding to

suspend activity at the Baillif abattoir

rather than close the site they allowed

the alternatives of regeneration and

reconstruction to coexist for too long

and appear to have demonstrated a cer-

tain passivity with regards to the time-

wasting on the part of the various

players involved.

The southern Basse-Terre township

committee, meanwhile, in rejecting

plans to connect the facility to the drin-

king water network and regardless of

the validity of the arguments put for-

ward, is jeopardising the opening of the

new abattoir.

Following the two successive inspec-

tions of the SMIARBT carried out by

the regional court of accounts of

Guadeloupe in 2011 and 2012 and

which revealed no significant improve-

ment, the Court is appealing for a swift

solution to be adopted in order to sim-

plify the structuring of Guadeloupe into

local authorities and reduce the cost of

managing the two public abattoirs as a

whole.

Basse-terre abattoir (Guadeloupe)

–

to encourage a structure whe-

reby the cost of running both public

abattoirs can be globally reduced,

notably by merging the Moule and

Gourbeyre abattoirs into one organisa-

tion comprising the region, the depart-

ment and the township committees;

–

to set the taxes and fees payable

by the user at a level that would enable

the service to break even.

recommendations