After announcing in the fall its desire to open a new chapter in the decentralization and exchanged with local elected officials on this subject in March, Emmanuel Macron raises the suspense. “There must be an institutional clarification. We could have a much more efficient system with more decentralization”, declared the President of the Republic in an interview published on Sunday by “L’Opinion”. “We have never done real decentralization in our country, we are transferring skills. Decentralization means giving a skill,” he added.
Two months ago, the Head of State had already indicated to local elected officials that a delegation of competence should be accompanied by a transfer of normative power and financial means. “Democratic responsibilities go with normative power and the need to be accountable to voters,” he insisted in “L’Opinion”.
Normative power
“We share the analysis of the President of the Republic: the State does not delegate enough! […] Emmanuel Macron speaks of institutional clarification but before considering a territorial big bang, let’s consider a big bang of public action! This requires simple solutions: normative power at the local level; true fiscal autonomy and the principle that whoever pays decides… and vice versa! “, reacts François Sauvadet (UDI), the president of Departments of France.
While the head of state has promised to receive them twice more by the summer and the government began discussions in February on housing policy, the ociations of elected officials remain on the sidelines. “I do not see what the President of the Republic’s political room for maneuver is between now and the end of the five-year term to make major in-depth changes. Given the context, I am more for a change in small touches ”, explains to the “Echos” Sébastien Martin (LR), the president of Intercommunalities of France, who pushes for a decentralization of the housing policy.
According to him, “one should not make uniform decentralization as is always the case, but at the same time there should be differentiation. All the intermunicipalities will not be able, for example, to take over the habitat competence ”, he justifies.
For the ociation of Mayors of France (AMF), decentralization must be based on “the principle of subsidiarity which provides for the competence of the nearest level. She pleads for “transferring normative power from the national to the local level, and for mayors to have decision-making power over all policies affecting their municipality: number of cles, hospital services, housing, water management, etc »
The Regions of France ociation recently reiterated its demand for the regionalization of employment policies, with complete decentralization of competence in the area of training and recognition in law of the regions as “organizing authorities of professional training “.