French government ends energy renovation programs

The French government has decided to end the funding of at least five energy renovation programs aimed at very modest households and local communities, according to organizations involved. These programs include Actee, Toits d'Abord, Territoires zéro exclusion énergétique, and Tims and Slime.

Programs lose key funding source

These programs will no longer be able to be funded by the "precarity" segment of the Energy Savings Certificates (CEE) next year, which represented a significant part of their budget. In total, these programs represented a budget of about 100 million euros in 2026, dedicated to energy renovation for very modest populations, according to the media Politico.

Impact on vulnerable households

Florian Huyghe, deputy director of the Housing Foundation, which cofinances Toit d'Abord, explains that the State has chosen, directly or indirectly, to touch the most vulnerable. These programs act on the most vulnerable people, those most affected by inflation and the cost of living. For them, it is a double punishment, he laments.

Purpose and structure of the programs

The programs, launched in recent years (the oldest being Toits d'Abord, initiated in 2012), aim to "complement" existing energy renovation devices by addressing populations who are "excluded" from them, explain their actors. It is a work of detail, with approved associations and local elected officials, details Florian Huyghe, on behalf of the Toits d'Abord program.

Government's new focus

The government, contacted by Politico, explains that it has "decided to refocus the CEE on electrification," according to the office of the Energy Minister, Maud Bregeon. The idea is not to increase (the volumes) of CEE obligations but to be able to redirect the CEE towards decarbonation and electrification goals, had already indicated the deputy minister in June.

Criticism of the new strategy

However, the programs affected by these cuts "are also oriented towards electrification," argues Florian Huyghe. And it is forgetting that electrification does not stand on its own. Does a heat pump make sense in an un-insulated home? he questions. Without a real consideration of the difficulties of the most vulnerable households, this electrification plan will only benefit the richest among us, also reacted the SER network.

Consequences for housing sector

Actee, for its part, "triggers several hundred million euros of work in local communities each year," recalled Guillaume Perrin, the program director, with Batiactu in mid-October. The entire renovation sector could be heavily impacted by the end of the program, which has been extended until the end of 2027, but without funding from the CEE.

Risk of reduced social housing

The risk, with these cuts, is also "to invisibilize" a whole part of social housing, according to Florian Huyghe. The actors (associations, local authorities, social landlords) all tell us that without our funding, ranging from 0.1 to 10% of the projects, they can no longer produce very social housing. There is no economic margin in production, he argues.

Decline in very social housing

According to the National Agency for Social Housing Control (Ancols), the representation of very social housing (PLAI - where rents are the lowest) has decreased in the social housing stock, going from 44 to 41% of housing in the space of ten years. This, while the share of applicants eligible for these very social housing remains stable, at 62% of applicants.

Foundation's response

The Housing Foundation explains that it will continue to act for these programs, with its own funds, "but with different means" and, if necessary, with trade-offs.