• On October 8, the Communist mayor of Avion, in the Pas-de-Calais, issued a municipal decree which quite simply prohibited energy suppliers from cutting gas or electricity among residents of the commune.

  • In this city of the Mining Basin, the population is far from running on gold and the ends of the month are often difficult.

  • In the past, other mayors, often Communists, had had more or less luck in taking similar initiatives.

Nobody is supposed to ignore the law. On October 8, the Communist mayor of Avion, in the Pas-de-Calais, issued a municipal decree which quite simply prohibited energy suppliers from cutting gas or electricity among residents of the commune. However, the decree, which has not been challenged in court or canceled by the prefect, has already been flouted ten times.

"I suspected that the energy suppliers would hurry to make cuts before the entry into force of the winter break," laments Jean-Marc Tellier, the mayor (PCF) of Avion, to explain the origin of its municipal decree.

In this city of the Mining Basin, the population is far from running on gold and the ends of the month are often difficult.

"More than 70% of the inhabitants do not pay tax", we assure

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.

So sometimes, the energy bills are not honored on time: "The surge in energy prices further aggravates already very difficult situations", continues the elected official.

The decree "is being studied at the sub-prefecture"

To prevent its most precarious citizens from finding themselves in the dark, the mayor has therefore decided to ban this possibility. In the past, other mayors, often Communists, had had more or less luck in taking similar initiatives. In 2007, the mayor of Champigny-sur-Marne had seen his anti-electricity, water and gas cut-off order validated by the Meulin court. For Avion, in the absence of a contrary decision, the text is still in force. The prefecture of Pas-de-Calais assured

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that the decree "is being studied at the sub-prefecture of Lens". We also received confirmation that Enedis “does not intend to appeal against the decision. "

“This does not prevent the cuts to multiply since.

We had one again this Tuesday.

It's so easy with the Linky meter, they don't even need to move ”, fulminates Jean-Marc Tellier.

There are about ten of them after the entry into force of the decree.

Enedis acknowledges having intervened "at the request of two of its electricity supplier customers", without naming them.

There are actually three: Engie, Eni and Iberdrola France.

For the first, the case was settled in a few hours thanks to the intervention of the mayor.

“With historical suppliers, it's easier to discuss because we have interlocutors.

With platforms, it's impossible, ”says the elected Communist.

"We are taken from service to service"

These “platforms” are the exclusively online energy suppliers.

And among them, the mayor has one particularly in the crosshairs.

"Eni cut the power to at least five homes, not counting those who do not declare themselves", assures Jean-Marc Tellier.

The latest concerns an elderly and disabled person for an invoice of 50 euros yet paid by check.

"We are taken from service to service, nobody knows about it and nobody can do anything," he continues.

This energy supplier is far from unanimous.

The national energy mediator confirmed to

20 Minutes that

Eni had the highest number of disputes in France in 2020: 4,156, out of the 27,203 identified, all operators combined.

Contacted by

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, Eni has yet to follow through.

Of the ten cuts that have occurred since October 8, only four homes have been restored.

To support his decree and prevent it from being deemed illegal by the prefect, Jean-Marc Tellier launched a support petition on the Internet.

It also has the solution so that such a text is no longer necessary: ​​"reduce taxes on energy by 30% and renationalize gas and electricity".

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