Decentralisation in France: new citizenship or restructuring hegemony?

Abstract

Abstract. The recent decentralist reforms in France are generally regarded as a major change with important political consequences. This paper highlights some of the historical processes leading to the reforms, showing the competing political dynamisms of both the Left and the Right in France which helps us to understand the apparent ambiguity of the reforms. It continues with a discussion of the reforms in terms of the stakes in local politics, urban structures and class relations in France, and then reviews the changes which have taken place in local politics and policies, and concludes by assessing the impacts of the changes for local democracy.

Space, Governmentality, and the Geographies of French Urban Policy ★

“…Strategically, the new government could not have afforded the recurrence of such incidents, especially faced with the opposition Right's severe critique of the new government's 'soft' attitude towards immigration; symbolically too, because the Socialist Party's success was based largely on the emergence and activism of a new generation of militants and elites, mostly committed to urban struggles. Indeed, the initial impetus for decentralization reforms, which was on the new government's agenda, 'had much to do with the pressure of the social movements that produced the 1981 victory' (Preteceille, 1988: 415), which means that the Socialist Government was, and had to be in order to maintain its locally based power, very sensitive towards urban social movements (Harburger, 1994;Preteceille, 1988).…”

The Modernization of the French Civil Service: Crisis, Change and Continuity

“…A new model of 'urban government' was already in place before the Socialist government's decentralization reforms of 1982-3, the key elements of which were: the transfer of functions and finance from central government to municipal, departmental and (later) regional councils; the abolition of prefectoral tutelle; and, in principle at least, the substitution of judicial for administrative modes of regulation of local government. The reforms may be seen as part of an overall strategy to decentralize the management of fiscal austerity (Biarez 1993;Preteceille 1988).…”

New Directions in Decentralisation and Urban Policy in France: The Search for a Postdecentralisation State

“…The transfer of social services to the departement illustrates this trend, as the departements have had to make the financial cuts to deal with these new functions. Preteceille (1988) also pointed out problems related to the spatial fragmentation worsened by the trend of reinforcing the social division. Despite some compensation from the State, the local tax system encourages fiscal autonomy in each commune, thus increasing the problems faced by the poorest communes within an urban area.…”