Francois Hollande Plans to Reduce Nnumber of Regions in France

It is the reform of all reforms. France map will change and will have some of 22 metropolitan regions combined in a bid to reduce administrative costs.

After the defeats in local and European, with unemployment rising and the economy stagnating, Hollande needs a project to hold on to continue his mandate. Only thus its precipitation is meant to kick the territorial reform will further delay by six months the regional and cantonal elections until November 2015, as a detail that accuses the opposition is the key to acceleration. Hollande just try to buy time to delay a new debacle, they say.

The unfinished text of the president, with the number of merged regions still to be decided, reveals something else. Hollande and his prime minister, Manuel Valls, spent Monday delivered a Persian bazaar haggling with the regional presidents of the Loire Valley, Brittany, Poitou -Charentes and Centre to decide whether the Loire merges with Britain, with the Centre or Poitou… at nine in the evening, after having sown panic among the barons of his game, a high-level meeting at the Elysee settles the debate: Loire and Brittany are left alone and the Centre merges with Poitou -Charentes and Limousin.

Hollande announced other more or less forced marriages: Alsace and Lorraine, Languedoc -Roussillon Midi – Pyrenees, Burgundy and Franche Comté, Champagne Picardy, Normandy High to Low Normandy. According to the president, “are regions of European stature, able to implement regional strategies.” And its powers are: ” Supporting businesses decide policies for training and employment, managing transport, roads, airports and ports; education and maintenance of major infrastructure. ” This, ” with their own dynamic financial means “, ” with meetings of reasonable size, ie, with fewer MPs,” and with two main objectives: the gradual disappearance of the general – current advice regional governments- and county councils that will disappear in 2020, and the merger three years ago, the 36,700 French communes in “communities of at least 20,000 inhabitants”, compared to 5,000 today.

Hollande proposes a major reform of the architecture of the republican state. The plan meets the commitment made by Paris to Brussels and Berlin in its Stability Programme for 2014-2017: reduce by 18,000 million state spending and 11.000 billion in the lifestyle of local and regional bodies.

The option has another great advantage: it is easier to pass than the announced abolition of the provinces, which was postponed to 2020 because of the time required for a constitutional reform that the government does not have a parliamentary majority. Valls wants to approve the new map of the Hexagon in Cabinet on 18 June with two bills, one on trimming regions elections, and another on the new powers. Parliament begins debate on July 4 by the accelerated procedure.

The political gesture is of great significance. President rises from the ashes like the great structural reformer who dared to meddle and expensive to the most conservative state in Europe (it costs 54% of GDP); even as a head of state to listen to the people and promises to reduce waste, perks and high superfluous charges.

But the stakes are highly risky. According to a survey of FIFG, 58 % of French people want the project to merge the regions submitted to referendum; and 54% are in favor only if a reduction of actual costs, no end time quantifies the president. The mergers of municipalities and the phasing out of existing regional parliaments and councils up arms in addition to thousands of mayors, councilors and provincial deputies.

Numerous reviews advertise a tough resistance. Hervé Morin centrist leader accused Hollande of ” draw new France in an hour, in a corner of his office.” And several senior positions Socialists said the plan will not save a single euro.

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Posted by Khalil Khan on Jun 5 2014. Filed under Europe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.