“Taking a risk like that is crazy”: Housing Minister Valérie Létard visits Montpellier

Valérie Létard à la rencontre des acteurs du logement, ce jeudi à Montpellier. JEAN-MICHEL MART

Valérie Létard, on a two-day visit to the 84th HLM congress held in Montpellier, confided in us about her new portfolio: the housing sector is going through a major crisis and the burden is set to be “heavy to bear”.

The state of grace will last as long as the roses, or will resist the onslaught of winter. This Wednesday in any case, at the Montpellier exhibition center, the new Minister of Housing and Urban Renewal, Valérie Létard, was able to take full advantage of it, crowned with her grassroots work as a senator and elected official from the north. This 61-year-old centrist, close to Jean-Louis Borloo, is known for her social fiber. 

Praise from a former Minister of Housing

The organizer of the HLM congress, Emmanuelle Cosse, president of the Social Union for Housing and herself a former Minister of Housing, was full of praise for Valérie Létard. “I want to say how pleased we are to have you back in this position“, she insisted into the microphone. “You are a high-quality politician, you are an expert in housing and urban renewal (…). We know that with you the dialogue will always be constant, mutual understanding and determination intact."

Eric Lombard, CEO of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, a key player in the housing sector, recalled that he had sent a text message of congratulations to the minister and "within a minute you called me to start tackling the files head on and I know you will continue to do so".

"The weight is heavy to bear"

"It is really a great emotion for me to be in front of you, replied the minister and former Secretary of State under Sarkozy. I am not going to tell you much,  I will speak tomorrow evening (Editor's note: this Thursday). I have heard your messages. The weight is heavy to bear on the shoulders of a very young minister named dimanche when I see the expectations and aspirations that are expressed."

“That's why I'm sticking with it, even though taking a risk like that is crazy. I'm doing it because it's a duty as an elected official, as a committed person. I'm taking risks. I'll fight, believe me, and I can get a lot (…). We know we're at a crossroads. I'm ready to support you.” And too bad for his family life… “I know someone who isn't very happy to see me here today, it's my husband. It wasn't really planned. I have a grandson who was born three months ago." So why did she accept this time, when she had refused the Housing portfolio proposed by Emmanuel Macron in 2017 ? 

Mystery. The journalists yesterday had to be content with her speech at the microphone. The minister did not take part in the question and answer game with the press. Perhaps the recent reprimanding of the Minister of the Economy by Prime Minister Michel Barnier did not help. The Minister of Housing also specified to the participants in the HLM congress that she had received "the Prime Minister's authorization to come and meet you while the general policy statement has not yet been made, he told me to come to tell you of his interest and lucidity regarding the difficulties you are facing".

"I don't have a wand magic”

“This lucidity does not prevent a reality, I do not have a magic wand“, she hastened to add. Since the Prime Minister has already mentioned a “very serious” budgetary situation, Valérie Létard could be the victim of decisions that are unfavourable to her ministry. 

“It was far from obvious for me to find myself in this government today. It was not quite in line with my ambitions and my political profile is independent."

Valérie Létard insisted on "the sincerity" of her commitment. She said she became even more aware, after visiting the stands, of "the urgency but at the same time the perspectives".

"The housing sector is a big family, we need all the links in the chain to be able to build a future for our fellow citizens", she insisted.

“The housing crisis has worsened further”

The workload, however, is colossal. 2.7 million people are waiting for social housing in France. “The housing crisis has worsened further, we are facing a historically low level of new production“, recalled Eric Lombard. “It is a form of house arrest that weighs on life paths, forcing people to give up training, higher education, employment, and leisure activities.”

Emmanuelle Cosse was exasperated by the legislative implementing decrees that have not been issued, “even though we have been waiting for them for months. It is incomprehensible and scandalous“. And she spoke of the “concerns” housing-related organizations: “A worried sector could be afraid to invest, afraid to fight, or worse, give up on leading the battle“.

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