Micheline Jacques:

On April 3, the Senate Delegation for Overseas France adopted its report on the high cost of living in the French overseas territories. The report was presented by Micheline Jacques, Senator for Saint-Barthélemy, in her capacity as Delegation President. The reality of the high cost of living in the French overseas territories is beyond dispute," she stressed. It is at the root of repeated crises, and requires solutions that are both immediate and lasting. "At a press conference in Paris, it was announced that the six rapporteurs (Viviane Artigalas, Jocelyne Guidez, Micheline Jacques, Évelyne Perrot, Teva Rohfritsch and Dominique Théophile) point to "the pitfalls that prevent us from breaking out of the vicious cycle of recurring crises". They list them as follows: "Looking for someone to blame, chasing the hexagonal mirage, increasing public spending, neglecting low incomes and over-administration. "To remedy the situation, they recommend a set of 24 "anti-cost-of-living" measures, organized around 5 axes that bring together a series of proposals. Pell-mell, the report suggests "discouraging the non-publication of company accounts by allowing the prefect or the president of theObservatoire des prix, des marges et des revenus", "obtain from the Autorité de la concurrence a study of overseas competition every 5 years at the most, and supplement it with specific studies for each territory".by specific studies for each territory", "draw up a plan to bring all port, airport and customs facilities up to the highest standards", and "concerning fuels, draw up a plan to bring the French market up to the highest standards". or "with regard to fuels, to exclude the DROMs from the application of the energy certificate reform, and to obtain a revision of the European carbon tax directive". In addition, to transform the economic model, delegation chairman Micheline Jacques and her colleagues point out that "regional economic integration, the development of local and regional economies, and the development of the French economy are all essential.conomic integration, the development of local production and income support are essential to overcome the tragedy of the high cost of living". And he adds that "these reforms are all the more urgent now that the US government's announcements have opened up a veritable tariff war that threatens the economies of the French overseas territories". As for dock dues, the senators recommend modifying them, but by no means abolishing them.
It goes without saying that many of the proposals and other measures set out in the report by the Delegation for Overseas France are aimed primarily at those territories most affected by the "high cost of living".s by the "high cost of living" and which do not benefit from an economic base as solid as... Saint-Barthélemy, for example. The adoption of the text by the Senate delegation for Overseas France comes at a time when the Minister for Overseas France, Manuel Valls, has pledged to present a bill on the subject of high living costs during the month of May.