The coronavirus health crisis has strong economic consequences for the French, especially those in precarious situations. To restore purchasing power to its inhabitants, the UDI town hall of Bobigny, in Seine-Saint-Denis, has decided to cancel the rents of 4,000 tenants in the park of the town's public housing office for the month of April, for an amount of 1.6 million euros. "The city of Bobigny has chosen to preserve purchasing power" explains Mickaël Alves, an employee of the mayor's office.
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"A radical step"
"In the context that we live in, and at the moment when the government wishes to support the economic activity of the country, the prefects of the various departments are currently soliciting the mayors of the cities of Seine-Saint-Denis to add a fund to economic support. And the Bobigny has chosen to favor the purchasing power of the Balbynians, "he adds. The municipality will cover half of this rent cancellation.
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In this city of Seine-Saint-Denis, a substantial part of the population is made up of beneficiaries of social minima. They live mainly on odd jobs or temporary work: categories of employment put on hold by the pandemic. "We needed to be able to act quickly," continues Mickaël Alves. "The radical measure was to propose the exemption of rents".
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An unprecedented decision in the department, while other municipalities are studying the possibility of spreading rents for tenants living in low-cost housing.