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Local Government in France
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Observatory on Local Autonomy
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Local Self-GovernmentDefinition (1)
Initié par des chercheurs de lUniversité de
Lille 2 (France), OLA est un réseau de recherche
scientifique, principalement composé
duniversitaires et de hauts-responsables
dadministration dÉtat et de collectivité locale
appartenant à chacun des 27 États-membres de
lUnion européenne. Comme le montre la
composition de ces équipes, les domaines
universitaires couverts sont volontairement
larges puisquils touchent autant au droit, à la
science politique, à la sociologie, qu à
lhistoire, léconomie, la géographie, etc.

• Local Autonomy is defined by the 1985 European
  Charter of Local Self-Government (article 3,
  paragraph 1). It was ratified in France in 2006.
• Local self-government denotes the right and the
  ability of local authorities, within the limits
  of the law, to regulate and manage a substantial
  share of public affairs under their own
  responsibility and in the interests of the local
  population.

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Local Self-GovernmentDefinition (2)
Initié par des chercheurs de lUniversité de
Lille 2 (France), OLA est un réseau de recherche
scientifique, principalement composé
duniversitaires et de hauts-responsables
dadministration dÉtat et de collectivité locale
appartenant à chacun des 27 États-membres de
lUnion européenne. Comme le montre la
composition de ces équipes, les domaines
universitaires couverts sont volontairement
larges puisquils touchent autant au droit, à la
science politique, à la sociologie, qu à
lhistoire, léconomie, la géographie, etc.

• In France, local self-government means
  decentralisation. Central government is
  supposed to
• - create distinctive local authorities (a sine
  qua non reason for implementing local
  self-government)
• - allocate certain responsibilities to these
  local authorities

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Local Self-GovernmentDefinition (3)
Initié par des chercheurs de lUniversité de
Lille 2 (France), OLA est un réseau de recherche
scientifique, principalement composé
duniversitaires et de hauts-responsables
dadministration dÉtat et de collectivité locale
appartenant à chacun des 27 États-membres de
lUnion européenne. Comme le montre la
composition de ces équipes, les domaines
universitaires couverts sont volontairement
larges puisquils touchent autant au droit, à la
science politique, à la sociologie, qu à
lhistoire, léconomie, la géographie, etc.

• Decentralisation shall be implemented through the
  principle of free administration for local
  authorities (Article 72, paragraph 2 of the
  French Constitution, 1958)
• The communities shall be self-governed through
  elected councils (article 72 of the Constitution)
  and through financial autonomy (article 72 of the
  Constitution).

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French Regions
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The Legal Framework
Initié par des chercheurs de lUniversité de
Lille 2 (France), OLA est un réseau de recherche
scientifique, principalement composé
duniversitaires et de hauts-responsables
dadministration dÉtat et de collectivité locale
appartenant à chacun des 27 États-membres de
lUnion européenne. Comme le montre la
composition de ces équipes, les domaines
universitaires couverts sont volontairement
larges puisquils touchent autant au droit, à la
science politique, à la sociologie, qu à
lhistoire, léconomie, la géographie, etc.

• Local self-government has gained the value of a
  constitutional principle (see art. 72 to 75-1
  and art. 76 to 77)
• Since 1996, a specific code has gathered Acts
  of Parliament and statutes that are dedicated to
  local government law (also accessible in English
  on Legifrance website) Code général des
  collectivités territoriales (CGCT ).

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Legal Specificities

• Local authorities are allowed to make
  experimentations (al. 4 art. 72 C)
• Local government law has been strongly orientated
  towards constitutional law after the
  constitutional reform of 2003
• The Balladur Committee (March 2009) a
  significant development?

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General presentation of local government system
(situation to-day)

• - Basic datas
• Special statuses for some local authorities
• Inter-communal co-operation (joint bodies)

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• Basic Datas

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Basic Datas

• Local authorities are listed in the French
  Constitution (Article 72, paragraph 1)
• The Constitution determines the types and numbers
  of local authorities in the French Republic
• 36 686 communes (municipalities)
• 100 départements (provinces)
• 26 regions (including Corsica)
• Overseas authorities
• (current situation, 1st January 2009)

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Traditional local authorities structure (1)
Each local authority has a deliberative and an
executive body
deliberative body executive body
Commune municipal council mayor
département general council president of the general council
Region regional council president of the regional council
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Traditional local authorities structure (2)
Deliberative bodies are directly elected for six
years Local government law is developing and
gradually opposition (minority) political party
groups are being granted a new status and new
means Executive bodies are elected by and within
the deliberative bodies, therefore
indirectly Slowly but steadily a specific status
of local representatives is being created in
order to overcome the accumulation of mandates
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Local government responsibilities (1)
The region is in charge of Economic
development Vocational training Spatial
planning Secondary school maintanance Environmen
t and culture
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Local responsibilities (2)
Départements core activities are social policies
and sustainable development. Municipalities are
mainly in charge of local services in order to
meet the local communities needs (e.g. primary
school, waste disposal, water system, public
lightning,...). Together with the local police,
they are also responsible for law and order.
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Control over Local Authorities
Article 72, paragraphe 6 of the French
Constitution In the territorial communities
of the Republic, central government is
represented by a préfet who represents each
Government member and who will be responsible for
national interests, administrative supervisions
and compliance with the law. Local finances
are controlled by the Regional Courts of Accounts
under the supervision of the national Court of
Accounts.
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• Special statuses
• for some
• local authorities

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Local authorities with a special status (1)

• 3 cities have had a specific status since 1982
  Paris, Lyon and Marseille
• 4départements have a special status the so
  called D.O.M (Département doutre-mer, overseas
  provinces), namely Guadeloupe, Martinique, Ile of
  La Réunion and French Guiana.
• After a positive referendum on 29 March 2009,
  will be the 5th DOM from 2011 on.

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Local authorities with special status (2)

• Some Regional Councils have a special status
• Corsica
• Ile-de-France (Paris area)
• ROMs (Régions doutre-mer, overseas regions)
  ROMs have the same areas as DOMs except that ROMs
  are composed of one sole département
• After rgional referendums (January 2010)
  Guadalupe and Martinique will unitary authorities
  with a new status which shall be created along
  with the reform for overseas authorities
  (expected in 2010-2011)

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Local authorities with a special status (3)

• COMs Collectivités doutre-mer (overseas local
  authorities)
• - Near the East African coast Mayotte
• Near the American continent Saint Pierre and
  Miquelon (near Canada), Saint-Martin Island and
  Saint- Barthélémy Island (near the West Indies)
• Close to the North and South Pole French
  Southern and Antarctic Lands
• In Oceania French Polynesia, New Caledonia
  (title XIII of the French Constitution),
  Wallis-and-Futuna Islands and the Clipperton
  Island

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• Inter-communal
• co-operation
• (joint bodies)

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Inter-communal co-operation (1)
France has too many small communes. In order to
overcome this problem, special institutions
(joint bodies) were created and they are called
établissements publics de coopération
intercommunale (EPCI). These bodies are public
authorities that incorporate several
communes. EPCI share common means, especially
financial resources, in order to carry out common
projects. Their responsibilities are delegated
from their member-communes.
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Inter-communal co-operation (2)

• Various types of inter-communal co-operation
• (figures as from 1st January 2010)
• Since 1890 15 903 Syndicats intercommunaux à
  vocation unique (SIVU) ou à vocation multiple
  (SIVOM) and Syndicats mixtes
• Since 1966 (reformed in 1999) 16 urban
  communities (incorporating over half a million
  inhabitants) Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, etc
• Since 1992 2406 communautés de communes
• Since 1999 174 agglomérations de commune
  (with a minimum population of 50,000 inhabitants)

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