French Parliament adopts bill creating state property company, making ministries tenants

The Ministry of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, and International Climate and Nature Negotiations in Paris, September 16, 2012. TIRADEN/WIKIPEDIA

After years of discussion and deliberation, a major shift in state real estate management has been enacted. Parliament definitively adopted a bill on Tuesday evening, July 21, creating a property company responsible for managing state real estate assets. The reform aims to generate savings and finance the ecological transition of the state's property portfolio. Under the new framework, administrations—including ministries—will become tenants rather than owners of their buildings.

Legislative Path

The text, authored by former minister and Renaissance deputy Thomas Cazenave (now mayor of Bordeaux), was adopted in the Senate in early July and passed in the National Assembly on Tuesday by a vote of 276 to 86.

The bill received support from deputies across the political spectrum, from the National Rally to the Socialist Party. Other left-wing groups opposed it, with some denouncing what they described as the risk of dismantling public heritage under a neoliberal ideology that would ultimately weaken public services. The text was the product of a compromise reached between deputies and senators during a joint committee following its initial examination in both chambers.

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A Heritage "Too Poorly Maintained and Badly Managed"

The state holds a portfolio of nearly 96 million m² of built surface area and more than 42,000 km² of undeveloped land, with an estimated value of approximately €74 billion. According to the bill's explanatory memorandum, the goal is to reduce the real estate portfolio by 25% by 2032.

"Our heritage is too unknown, too poorly maintained, and badly managed, according to a logic that is too fragmented," stated Macronist rapporteur Pierre Cazeneuve.

The new property company, structured as a public establishment, will own the buildings. This separates the roles of owner and occupant, making administrations accountable for the surfaces they actually use.

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"It must make the real cost of real estate occupancy more visible," emphasized Mr. Cazeneuve.

Supporters argue that the rents will incentivize reducing, sharing, or disposing of unnecessary space. The revenue will notably help finance the ecological transition of the portfolio.

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Minister of Public Accounts David Amiel noted that the state faces "an investment wall estimated by the Court of Auditors at between €140 and €150 billion by 2050."

The Left Divided

The creation of the property company divided the left. La France Insoumise deputy Shéhérazade Bentorki denounced "the introduction of market logic at the very heart of our state," arguing that rents charged to ministries would lead to reductions in space and services due to a lack of additional funding.

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"Behind every m² removed, there is a counter that closes, a service that moves away, agents crammed together," she declared, defending public heritage as "not a burden to be liquidated, it is a wealth to be preserved."

Conversely, Socialist deputy Sophie Pantel justified her group's favorable vote by highlighting the need for reform while ensuring public service protections.