CASE. MaPrimeRenov’: inefficiency, too much complexity… because the Senate shoots red balls at the aid system

“A device that doesn’t work”. According to Guillaume Gontard, president of the environmental group in the Senate, the observation is clear: public policy in favor of energy renewal is incomplete. a scathing report, made public on June 29, the Senate inquiry commission of which the Isère elected was rapporteur, aimed in particular MaPrimeRenov’, the flagship aid scheme for the energy renovation of housing. “We are asking real questions about the use of public money,” explains the senator alongside The shipmentdeploring the poor efficiency of the system in place.

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Because according to the commission of inquiry, the device MaPrimeRenov’ it is far from proven. Firstly because it does not allow you to achieve the set goals. In 2015, based on the Paris Agreement, France committed to renovate 300,000 homes a year. This target was later revised upwards: up to 2030, the state now has the ambition to renovate 370,000 homes every year and even 700,000 from 2031. “Today we are far from these figures”, complains Guillaume Gontard. In fact, according to the latest statistics available, the device But PrimeRenov it supports only 50,000 to 100,000 energy renovation projects each year.

In addition to its low efficiency, the Senate also underlines the “complexity” of the device: “We have a real readability problem with this tool,” observes Guillaume Gontard. “The restructuring support service for individuals, for example, has changed its name five times and its financing method twice in recent years.” Extended procedures, ever-changing ways of allocating… Senators fear that the complexity of the system will discourage most applicants from the aid to which they are entitled anyway.

Especially since the technical problems encountered on the online portal have already been the subject of numerous criticisms. Last April, before the Senate commission, Claire Hédon, a defender of rights, declared that she had received almost 1,400 complaints in the last two years. Jumble: Inability to create an account or file, submit supporting documents online, edit file elements, and finally begin work.

References in court

Furthermore, and this is an important criticism of the system: more than 200 private individuals have appealed to the administrative courts to report significant delays in the payment of this aid. In total, almost 9 million euros would be requested from the National Housing Agency (Anah), the body in charge of speeding up the payment of public aid.

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Despite these accepted grievances, the senators recommend increasing the allocated budget MaPrimeRenov’ and increase the overall budget to €4.6 billion in aid annually. On this aspect, however, the State was not long in coming. Last week, the government announced that the budget allocated to the facility would be strengthened in 2024. Currently endowed with €2.4 billion a year, it will rise to €4 billion next year. An “unprecedented” increase in the words of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, speaking before the National Council for the ecological transition. This treasury is part of an additional €7 billion that the government intends to mobilize to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.