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# [RÉUNION] 2026 Regional Budget: €1.32 billion with investments up 22.7%
- URL: https://businessoi.media/en/la-reunion-budget-regional-2026-1-32-milliard-deuros-et-investissements-en-hausse-de-22-7-en/
- Published: 2026-07-17T13:39:47.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-17T13:39:47.000Z
- Description: [RÉUNION] The Region adopts a €1.32 billion budget for 2026, with investments up 22.7%: undersea cable, vocational schools and a first green budget. Analysis of the stakes for Réunion's economy.
- Author: Emmanuel TAOCHY
- Tags: La Réunion, Finances publiques, Clôture, #en

**Réunion Region bets on investment.** Despite a tense national context and uncertainty over state transfers, the regional assembly has adopted a 2026 budget totalling **€1.32 billion** in payment credits, for **€1.94 billion in budget movements**. The headline: investment spending rises by **22.7%**, now accounting for **53% of the total budget**, against 47% for operations.

## Ecology as the top priority

The largest investment line goes to **sustainable development and ecological transition**, with **€321 million** allocated — up 27.8%. A clear signal that the Region is placing Réunion on the path toward a greener economy. Among flagship projects: a **new-generation underwater cable** estimated at around **€90 million**, designed to strengthen the island's digital connectivity — a strategic asset as digital sovereignty and economic diversification become key competitive factors for local businesses.

## Social and human investment: €278 million, but unemployment still 2.5× the national average

The Region dedicates **€278 million** to human and social development (+7.8%), including construction of two new vocational lycées. These investments come against a challenging backdrop: unemployment in Réunion remains **2.5 times higher than metropolitan France's average**, underlining the urgency of training more young people for tomorrow's jobs.

Economic development receives **€100 million** (+2.2%), an envelope the opposition deems insufficient given rising business failures. Opposition councillors also criticised delays in major projects — including the lycées — despite the executive being in its fifth term.

## A first: the green budget

The 2026 budget introduces a pioneering **first «green budget»**, assessing the environmental impact of each expenditure line. While symbolic at this stage, the initiative commits the region to environmental transparency aligned with European standards expected by 2027-2028\. The vehicle registration tax is also revised upward, to **€60 per fiscal horsepower** (from €57), a modest increase of €3 per horsepower.

## Why it matters

On an island where economic inequalities remain structural, a budget weighted toward investment is a positive signal. The combination of «digital cable + vocational training + ecological transition» outlines a coherent endogenous development strategy. For Réunion businesses, the key takeaways are: more public contracts, improved broadband access, and a local authority that — even imperfectly — is accompanying the island economy's transformation.

*Sources: Zinfos974 — Région Réunion Budget 2026*