Regionalisation in a unitary state : the case of France

Abstract

France is the traditional example of the unitary state, but the process of decentralisation – initiated in 1982 – clearly eroded the coherence of a model built around the strong centralized government. During the last decades the centralization turned to a decentralized territorial administration. The contemporary territorial administration is composed by a three level framework of local governments: région (NUTS 2), département (NUTS 3), commune or municipality (NUTS 4). In November 25, 2014 the National Assembly accepted the law on the delimitation of the metropolitan regions of twenty-two to thirteen, and the postponement of the elections. In this mini-revolution François Hollande wants to reform the size of the regions, so as the new regions should be of European-scale to be able to build territorial strategies. The new law will come into force 1 January 2016. By creating new constituencies, the government takes the risk of worsening the debacle expected for the Socialist Party in the regional elections of December 2015.