With water and dry bread. Or almost. Since Thursday, the city of Noyon began distribution of package of Christmas to Noyonnais aged 67 and over. An operation carried out jointly by the Municipal Social Action Center and the city of Noyon. But due to budgetary restrictions, the package for this Christmas 2024 is particularly thin. Judge for yourself: a bottle of fruit juice, a packet of madeleines, a packet of biscuits, a packet of coffee and two clementines. In the spirit of Christmas, a small bottle of wine (25cl) and a small bottle of champagne (37cl) still complete the package. With the exception of the alcohol, this package has everything you need for a school snack.
“It’s going badly”
The approximately 1,650 packages concocted by the municipality obviously caused a lot of reaction. “I am outraged, when I think that my taxes have just increased and that I have this in return, I have never seen that,” confides a retiree. A former elected official close to Sandrine Dauchelle comments: “This package is going badly, people say that she takes them for beggars.” Before that, “the packages were more abundant and above all more qualitative,” she assures.
Another former elected official from Sandrine Dauchelle’s team, from the time she was in opposition, has things to say about the famous package. This is Robert Bindel. “It’s pitiful,” he blurted. A fervent opponent at the time of Patrick Deguise’s mandate as mayor, Robert Bindel, compares: “At the time, we had good packages, we must admit,” he says. He jokes: “I sent the photo of the package to a deputy friend in a small village in the Somme, he told me “come to us, you won’t be disappointed”. Without restraint, he concludes: “We would have gone to the Restos du coeur, we would have had better service.”
The former majority says “its shame”
“I’m ashamed, I’m ashamed,” assures a former agent of the previous majority. “When I think of the time spent back then preparing the package, selecting the products… negotiating prices, etc.” To shed light on these statements, we brought out the compositions of the previous packages.
One example among others:
- 1/2 Henri champagne
- 1/2 grand cru red wine
- A cooked dish
- 150 g foie gras
- 500 g of clementine
- 1 metal can of Malongo coffee
- A small packet of chocolate droppings
- A bundle of boudoirs
- A packet of Breton pancakes
- A small packet of fruit jellies
- An assortment of small jars of jams
- A Hyacinth
Unit value of this package: 40 euros at the time. Against around twenty euros for the 2024 package, we calculated.
Packages for couples: “A scam”
“The scam,” continues this former close friend of Patrick Deguise, “is that, where the couples had one parcel each before, this year, they have a so-called large parcel, but it is in fact one and a half parcels “. Or how to save money – we think – discreetly. But with two extra clementines, an extra packet of coffee and a few chocolates, it’s not there.
However, Sandrine Dauchelle’s packages were not always so poor. At the start of the mandate, when money was flowing freely – or at least when the mayor seemed to think so – the Christmas package had been doubled. “In 2020, in the fall, there were still a few pennies left in the city’s coffers,” reports a former executive. We then organized an arbitration commission to find out what to do with this money. Many wanted these funds to be used to create parking lots for new school groups. But Sandrine Dauchelle and her advisor at the time, Emmanuel Espanol, felt that it was better to use this money to improve the contents of seniors’ packages. An arbitration which was not without ulterior motives: “The mayor of Noyon knew that her election was probably going to be canceled and she imagined that improving the content of these packages would bring her a lot of votes on the side of the elders, continues this former frame. In fact, that year, the packages were very well supplied, both in quantity and quality…”
An illustration of the city’s financial situation
Poorer packages, in quantity and quality this year at the end of 2024 which is decidedly very gloomy. The concrete illustration of the desperate financial situation of the city of Noyon which must be resolved through savings at all levels.
Savings, except for the 8-page, glossy paper supplement of the municipal year’s report delivered in December with the municipal magazine Vivre à Noyon. A magazine for which the opposition has been deprived – although this is a legal obligation – of space for expression. Although she is not spared.
Savings, except for the vows ceremony. Although it is a safe bet that the meeting will not be as grandiose and expensive as in previous years, it will be held like every year at the Chevalet. And we bet that the meeting will not be as poor as the seniors’ package: this ceremony remains Mayor Dauchelle’s favorite moment.
It seems that retirees don’t like Christmas.
