Suchergebnisse

Dans ses déclarations de principe, l'Église défend un mode de prise de décision ouvert : collégialité, concertation, prise en compte des laïcs... Or, les décisions qui ont provoqué le plus d'incompréhension dans le monde catholique ont été, à l'inverse, édictées de manière opaque et hiérarchique. Peut-on y voir un rapport avec la désaffection qui touche la pratique religieuse en Europe ?

We will not try here to attempt a complete comparison of decentralized local government in France and Japan together with their respective impact on economic development, but rather to focus on some points which appear to be of particular significance for further reflection in order to learn from both cases.

The Paradoxes of the Prefectoral Body

There are two dates which stand out in the history of the institution of the prefect during the Fifth Republic. First, the reform of 1964 had the objective of giving the prefect an authority over State services at local level. In fact, as 'holder of all ministers'powers', the prefect in practice would be brought into confrontation with heads of service from the different ministries, strengthened by delegations from their various ministers. This reform also created a new organisation, the region, at the head of which is a regional prefect, who is prefect of the department's territorial administrative centre. Secondly, decentralisation in 1982, while strengthening the prefect's powers over State services, has radically altered the content of its activities at the heart of administrative territories : prefects are no longer their guardian nor the executive of departments and regions : they must reposition themselves in response to new local authorities elected by universal suffrage, while the instability of their office over time does them a disservice.

From Participation to Communication
With decentralization, local French public life has moved from a system of participation to a new situation based on communication. Far from facilitating the involvement of the citizenry in public action, this development has, above all, permitted local collectivities to adopt communication policies aimed at improving their image with the economic and social participants.

Paradoxes of an Institution : the Sub-Prefect in charge of Urban Policy
According to the decree of 28 January 1991, the role of the sub-prefect in charge of urban policy is to arbitrate, monitor and impulse urban policy in his département, but it is quite difficult for this official to find his place and to impose his authority in front of local authorities' administrations -sometimes with three levels -and state field services. This can be explained by the administrative context in which the sub-prefect has to be integrated : sometimes the established administrative structures in charge of this policy are too ill-assorted, sometimes they don't even exist, in which case many of the sub-prefect's initiatives seem to stem from non-administrative motivations. This yet fragile institution does not have all the legal and financial means it needs and is badly supported by central ministerial departments.