The senators decided it by a show of hands on Tuesday. The first reading of the text of the elected Les Républicains (LR) aimed at allowing the establishment of casinos in municipalities with a historic equestrian activity will have been enough to have it adopted. Cities like Saumur or Arnac-Pompadour are thus concerned. Indeed, the bill tabled by Catherine Deroche, Stéphane Piednoir and Claude Nougein more specifically targeted these two municipalities of Maine-et-Loire and Corrèze.
Its scope was extended in committee, on the initiative of the rapporteur François Bonhomme (LR), to the municipalities hosting one of the 13 national stud farms of Saint-Lô, Lamballe, Pin, Hennebont, Lion d’Angers , La Roche-sur-Yon, Pompadour, Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Aurillac, Pau-Gelos, Uzès, Rosières-aux-Salines and Cluny.
The text further provides that the municipality must have housed the headquarters of a horse racing company and have organized “at least ten equestrian events with national or international influence per year between January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2023”.
The government has issued an opinion of wisdom, that is to say that it is not opposed to the text but does not go so far as to be in favor of it.
“Nevertheless, we would like the wording of this text to be reworked on the occasion of the parliamentary shuttle in order to allow the accumulation of a criterion drawn from the equestrian activity and a criterion linked to the tourist classification of the municipality”, she added.
The centrist group abstained on this text, Nathalie Goulet believing that it should be “reworked”.
“Let’s avoid opening a breach for the installation of gambling,” pleaded the ecologist Monique de Marco.
“These territories deserve their spin, let’s open the door of luck to them,” said Nicole Duranton (RDPI, majority Renaissance).
The Senate adopted in session an amendment also allowing the opening of a casino by border department in a city classified as a tourist municipality.
The opening of a municipal casino is prohibited in principle. However, certain categories of municipalities may host a casino in an exceptional manner.
These are mainly municipalities classified as seaside resorts, thermal spas, tourist resorts or the main towns of agglomerations of more than 500,000 inhabitants with specific cultural establishments. The city of Paris obeys a specific regime.
Opening the derogation to municipalities with a significant equestrian activity would, according to the authors of the bill, “compensate for the unequal distribution of these establishments on the territory”.
According to the rapporteur, Saumur is counting, if the bill goes through to the end of its course, on the creation of 100 direct or indirect jobs and annual tax revenue of around 1 to 1.5 million euros.
There are currently 203 casinos in France, including 196 in mainland France and 7 overseas. Their gross gaming revenue (GGR) is over €2.5 billion per year.
“France concentrates 40% of casinos in the EU,” noted Ms. Backès.