Analyses, investigations, profiles and explanations — what public data lets us understand, in a format worth reading. No article is sponsored.
The latest published articles — all categories.
InvestigationAcross 14 years of public contracts notified by the Ville, the top 15 suppliers cumulatively exceed €4 billion. The ranking is dominated by urban cleaning operators, road construction, urban furniture, energy and industrial maintenance, most of them present throughout the period. A reading of a rarely consolidated 2013-2024 aggregate.
InvestigationAcross six fiscal years, some line items in the City's budget are systematically over-executed (Economy operating at +35%, Transport investment at +23%), others systematically under-executed (Economy investment at -26%, Loans & Debt at -23%). Anatomy of the gap between the promise voted at the start of the year and the accounting reality recorded at year-end.
ProfileSecond in the 'Arrondissement portraits' series. The 13th has Paris's largest social-housing stock in absolute terms (15,700 units), driven by Paris Habitat-OPH and shaped by the two largest urban-development operations of late-20th-century Paris: Les Olympiades and Paris Rive Gauche.
ProfileFirst in the 'Arrondissement portraits' series. The 19th concentrates 40% social housing — the highest ratio in Paris — and 309 programs spread across 30 social-housing operators. A numerical anatomy of an arrondissement shaped by a century of public landholdings.
InvestigationAcross two fiscal years (2020 and 2021), €2.3 billion in grants paid by the Ville de Paris to 26,000 beneficiaries do not appear in the standard OpenData file, nor in a journalist's usual searches. The data existed — in a PDF annex of the Administrative Account. Methodical account of a few-hour reconstitution using pdftotext and a 250-line regex parser.
ExplainerWhen the press reports that the Ville pays €X to Y, the word used to describe the flow is almost always imprecise. Three distinct legal regimes channel public money to local recipients — subsidies, service purchases, public procurement — each with its own rules, controls, and logic. A decoder.
InvestigationOf the €87.6M in consulting and study contracts notified in 2024, the top 10 is dominated by French specialist firms (MC2I, AEC, Sémaphores) and IT-services operators (BearingPoint, Accenture). McKinsey, KPMG and Deloitte do not appear in it. A reading of the Parisian portfolio, set against the national public-consulting ecosystem.
InvestigationAs of 31 December 2024, the Ville de Paris had granted €12.28 billion in loan guarantees — an outstanding amount larger than its own financial debt (€10.7Bn). Concentrated 88% on social housing and 79% on the Caisse des Dépôts, this contingent commitment appears in no debt-reduction ratio. A reading of an off-balance-sheet aggregate rarely measured in public debate.
ProfileWith roughly 130,000 dwellings managed across Île-de-France — most of them in Paris — Paris Habitat is France's largest public-housing office. Anatomy of an operator that never makes headlines, and of a City grant that tells only part of its story.
ExplainerThe Solidarité et Renouvellement Urbains law requires 25% social housing in dense municipalities. Paris meets the threshold city-wide, but eight arrondissements fall below. Anatomy of the legal mechanism — from the text of the law to deficiency rulings.
ExplainerA municipality cannot borrow to pay its salaries. This rule, codified in article L.1612-4 of the Code général des collectivités territoriales, is what radically separates a municipal budget from the State's. Anatomy of a short text and its consequences.
ExplainerOn 31 December 2024, the City of Paris booked €48 billion of total assets, of which €47Bn in tangible fixed assets. This figure is computed at amortised historical cost — market value would be considerably higher. Explanation of a structural gap, and what it means when reading the accounts.
ProfileThe Centre d'Action Sociale de la Ville de Paris received 31% of all subsidies paid by the Ville in 2024 — the top recipient, and the most stable across six fiscal years. A reading of the financial flow that links the municipality to its CCAS, and of what it actually funds.
InvestigationOf 1,353 M€ paid to 5,948 beneficiaries in 2024, 816 M€ went to 201 public establishments — CASVP leading the pack at €416M. The 2,769 actual Paris associations shared 280 M€ between them. Anatomy of a little-known cascade.
InvestigationBetween 2022 and 2024, the Ville de Paris delivered 48 sports and cultural facilities tied to the Games. Investment up 22%, six cost overruns above 30%, one cancellation, ongoing litigation. Accounting reconstruction of a cycle unlike any other.
ExplainerWhy some arrondissements concentrate ten times more subsidised housing than others. Four structural factors — 19th-century legacy, ZAC urban-development zones, land prices, right of pre-emption — that explain a map no catch-up policy can quickly redraw.
ExplainerNot in the commercial sense — French law forbids a municipality from disappearing. But a very precise prefectoral oversight regime kicks in if the financial golden rules are broken. No town of more than 10,000 residents has been placed under it since 2015. Anatomy of a scenario that has never happened.
ExplainerBudget, balance sheet, M57, internal accounting entries — everything you need to read Paris's financial files without being a chartered accountant.
