https://canadians.org/sites/default/files/inline-images/cNtyZONtzFUmYopYx6JwrBbtmqwbWBbSUx19vQN0lcagUewZOq.mp4CUPE Today reports that, “Water prices in Paris, France are dropping just one year after the city took back control of the water system from private operators. For years the city’s water was operated by Veolia and Suez — two private, multinational corporations. When a new city government was elected, they vowed to bring water services back in-house. In 2009 they created a new public system and have achieved lower rates and greater accountability for the citizens of Paris.”
“Deputy Mayor of Paris Anne Le Strat told the compelling story of how the city put water services back into public hands in an exclusive video message to CUPE members at the National Municipal Sector Meeting in Toronto on Feb. 17.” To watch her presentation, please go to http://cupe.ca/water/protecting-public-water-public-paris.
While France is ‘home’ to Veolia and Suez, there has also been a significant trend toward the remunicipalization of private water services back into public hands. In France, more than 40 municipalities and urban communities have taken their water services back from private, for-profit operators over the last ten years and are delivering improved, less-costly services. As referenced above, on January 1, 2010, Paris remunicipalized its water system after 25 years of private control. On the first anniversary of this, they announced that by spring water rates in Paris could drop by 5-10 percent.
1- In our trade work we raised with Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France this past January that CETA would go against this positive trend of remunicipalizations and only benefit the large transnationals that profit from the sale of water and sanitation services, http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=6098.
2- In our campaign against the Veolia contract in Winnipeg we have been working to raise the European experience with this company, http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=6069 and http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=3875.
3- This is also significant in our Blue Planet Project work as the World Water Forum – where Veolia and Suez will be to advance their agenda – will be taking place in March 2012 in France, http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5024.
4- Given ongoing legal challenges against two films featuring Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow – FLOW and Water Makes Money – we will be in France in the coming months (likely June 6-7) to defend these films critical of the water industry, http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=5401.
5- We have also raised the situation with Veolia in Berlin (not dissimilar to the case in Winnipeg) and the struggle of groups there to have the contracts on that partial privatization released, http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=6385.
