Overview
- The metropolitan council disclosed a verified €123 million gap that must be closed to pass a legally balanced 2026 budget or face state supervision known as tutelle.
- Finance officials attribute the hole mainly to reduced national transfers over 2025–2026 of about €120 million and higher transport operating costs tied to expanded service and targeted free fares.
- The authority ended 2025 with no surplus after about €840 million in investment, which left no cushion to absorb the 2026 shock.
- President Nicolas Isnard outlined four paths to balance the books that include raising local taxes, deep spending cuts, a mix of both, or letting the State take control of the budget.
- Isnard rejects a broad tax hike of roughly €150 per household and cuts to payments owed to member towns, and he is convening mayors and pressing Paris for support while signaling that some projects or partial free transit could be rolled back.