During the metropolitan council meeting on October 15, the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis adopted the second amending decision for the main budget for the 2026 fiscal year. This decision aims to readjust credits to meet service needs while maintaining the budgetary balance between expenses and revenues without impacting payments to municipalities.
To achieve this, the Metropolis is using an accounting technique reserved for exceptional situations. This method had not been recommended by the magistrates of the regional audit chamber nor by the state services during the preparation of the 2026 budget.
“"This modification finally allows the Metropolis's 2026 accounts to be balanced, while maintaining all allocations to the municipalities, which will not lose a single euro this year, as well as the investments that the territory and our businesses need. The accounting solution chosen was identified recently, but it is not ideal. It will lead us to borrow a little more than planned in 2026 and degrade our financial trajectory. But it is now imposed on us given the failure of the proposal made to the metropolitan council on September 10."
The official added that this latest solution notably avoids a new referral to the magistrates, whose outcome was more uncertain. By taking responsibility, even with a less-than-ideal solution, the Metropolis can move forward and begin actively preparing the 2027 budget, which will present an equally complex equation.
