Service France Domaine is a French government agency, which plays a central role in the property management of state-owned real estate in France. France Domaine acts as the owner of the state real estate, and advises various public administrations in activities related to real estate, for instance by coordinating the real estate strategy for different ministries. France Domaine functions under the ministry for budget and state reform (Ministère du Budget, des comptes publics, de la fonction publique et de la réforme de l'État).
Since 2007, all ministries in the central administration pay internal rent to France Domaine for their use of state-owned real estate. France Domaine is tasked with disposing property that is no longer used by the government, and which has become too costly or outdated to maintain. All in all, its real estate operations include buying, selling, renting, and development. Together with approximately 150 regional and local treasury offices under the Public Treasury (Trésor public), France Domaine performs all activities relating to the management of government property assets. The aims for France Domaine include to ensure that state property is efficiently managed, increasing the quality of public services, while at the same time reducing costs; and also improving the working environment for government employees.
State real estate stock
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The state is the largest owner of real property in France. In 2008, the French government property assets were valued at approximately 45 billion EUR. A study done circa 2003 concluded that the government real estate stock comprised 120 to 150 million square meters of floor space, half of which was offices; the remainder consisting of warehouses, archival buildings, and some 300 000 residential buildings. Approximately 80% of this real estate is occupied by government ministries and public administrative organizations.
Sale of state-owned real estate
In 2005, the French government formed a strategy for state-owned real estate. One of the goals was to reduce government debt by selling state-owned real estate on the market. In 2005 the sales yielded 635 million EUR, and 798 million EUR in 2006. However, only 15% of the returns would be used to reduce public debt. The larger part would be used as an economic incentive to economise on real estate holdings, by being returned to the ministries that previously occupied the property.
Examples of such sales include:
- The St. Anne Prison in Avignon, built in 1865 during the reign of Napoleon III.
- The former residence of the commander of the French Foreign Legion.
- A foreign ministry building proximal to Champs-Élysées, near the Arc de Triomphe. Sold for 600 million dollars.
Notes
References
External links
- Service France Domain â€" Official website (in French)
