France: Seine-et-Marne department - EUR 100m for the refurbishment and upgrading of collèges

The €100m finance contract signed on Tuesday 1 September by Jean-Jacques Barbaux, President of the Seine-et-Marne department, and Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), is designed to provide young people in Seine-et-Marne with optimum educational and training conditions to give them the best possible chance of a successful future. The signing ceremony took place at the Lucien Cézard school in Fontainebleau following a visit of the premises. This is the first time that the EIB has signed a financing agreement with the Seine-et-Marne department.

Given the current economic climate, the principal advantage of this loan is that it provides the department with very favourable financing terms thanks to the EIB's "AAA" rating.

This is a large-scale project in terms of the refurbishment and upgrading of infrastructure: 12 collège projects in the department, including the construction of schools in Montévrain and Magny-le-Hongre, have already been targeted, the key aspects being accessibility for persons with reduced mobility, improved energy efficiency of buildings and the development of digital infrastructure tailored to the schools' educational needs. This loan will also be used to refurbish the Museum of Prehistory and the department's multimedia library.

"The European Union's bank is delighted to sign this maiden loan with the Seine-et-Marne department. It is a project adopted and implemented under a policy of youth training and climate action. By creating optimum training conditions, we are giving all of the department’s young people the chance to find a job. That is the very purpose of the commitment we are making today alongside the department”, remarked EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.

"Despite considerable budget constraints, the elected representatives of the Seine-et-Marne department have chosen to give priority to investment in support of education. The EIB's commitment alongside local authorities such as ours is therefore vital to enable us to invest", explained Jean-Jacques Barbaux, President of the Seine-et-Marne department.

This loan forms part of the EIB's priority action to support quality public services that can meet the people's needs in the heart of the regions. Accordingly, since 2013 the EIB has decided to devote €6bn a year to infrastructure upgrading in France.

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