Longuyon. Health: the text that will allow “healthy competition” with the Meuse

"It was a fight for justice and, I think, for respect for the use of public funds." A battle that Senator Jean-François Husson won, after "eighteen months of work," according to the mayor of Longuyon, Jean-Pierre Jacque... His town has just been classified as a France ruralités revitalisation zone (the former ZRR, rural revitalisation zones), even though it does not meet one of the two eligibility criteria.

The "exemption" is made possible thanks to the application of an amendment to the 2025 Finance Act, introduced by the Meurthe-et-Moselle parliamentarian. To understand its significance, we must go back to the root of the problem...

In November 2019, Longuyon inaugurated the multi-professional health center (MSP) launched by the inter-municipality Terre Lorraine du Longuyonnais (T2L). This €2.8 million excluding tax project was subsidized at 64%, including 40% by the State. At the same time, the classification of the entire Meuse as a Rural Revitalization Zone (ZRR) began to impact nearby Meurthe-et-Moselle, due to the tax exemptions it came with... Several medical students, after their internship at the Longuyonnaise MSP, left to settle in the neighboring department .

"The goal was to restore healthy competition," summarized Jean-François Husson on Thursday, April 24, during a session explaining the text. "To no longer have to jump between these two territories for tax reasons," reiterated Senator Véronique Guillotin, who stood by his side.

Until now, to enter the FRR zone, a locality had to meet two criteria: one of population density, the other of wealth. Longuyon met the first. "But for the second, it was on the border," notes Hélène Geronimi, sub-prefect of Val-de-Briey. "On the one hand, there was the funding of the health center and, on the other, a fragile territory that could not qualify for the system," the state representative weighs in.

Thanks to the amendment, "if a municipality meets one of the two criteria, the regional prefect is given the option to adjust the approach," said Senator Husson. This is what he did for Longuyon, "to my knowledge, the only municipality in the Grand Est region that will be able to benefit from this system."

Who will benefit from these mechanisms? General practitioners who choose to set up in Longuyon, at the MSP (Psychological and Social Services Center), or elsewhere. "But also all medical and paramedical health professionals," explains Dr. Jolivald. The Longuyon MSP team sees this as an opportunity to strengthen its physiotherapist staff. This will drop to three by September, for five available positions.

Less well known, the FRR zone and its support will benefit industrial, commercial, craft, and liberal businesses with fewer than 11 employees. On April 24, Sub-Prefect Geronimi announced the next steps: "Starting Monday, the Public Finance Department will contact the T2L to communicate with a whole range of professions that contribute to the attractiveness of the region and are affected by this text."