essay
Module 5
The French State: Language, Culture and Education
Section 2: The Long Arm of the French State
Overview
In this section we will explore the relationships between the State and the administrative branches of government. We will look at the ways in which the local is governed by centralized powers on a national level as well as outlining some of the advantages and disadvantages of this structure.
Key terms and concepts: Communes, departments, regions, préfets, préfectures, centralization, assimilation, arrondissements, Départements et Régions d’outre-mer (DOM-ROMs), Collectivités d’outre-mer (COMs), Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (TAAF)
Table of Contents:
· Chapter 11: Dogs, Towns, and Local Government (Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong, pp. 142-159)
· Paris
· Problems of Urban Life
· Overseas France
· Départements et Régions d'outre-mer
· Territories, Collectivities, and Special Status
· Sources
|
After completing the following readings, see if you are able to do these things: |
|
· Describe the importance of Paris in relation to the rest of France. · Name three other important urban centers in France today and locate them on a map of France. · Highlight the problems faced by someone who works in Paris but can't afford to live in the city. · Name the five overseas départements of France and locate them on a map of the world. · Cite three ways in which France provides services and maintains close ties to the populations of its overseas territories. |
Chapter 11: Dogs, Towns, and Local Government (Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be WrongI, pp. 142-159)
· What does the example of the laissez-faire attitude of the police towards Parisian dog owners who refuse to clean up after their dogs illustrate about the way law enforcement is organized in France?
· What keeps the city of Paris and other cities in France from hiring and training their own police force?
· Who is designated by the word "citizen" in France? Why is this so important to the French?
· If New France had remained a part of France rather than a part of Canada, how would life be different for today's Quebeckers?
· Describe the origin of the office of the préfecture and the interaction between this office and local officials such as mayors.
· List two advantages and two disadvantages Guadeloupe experiences as an overseas department of France.
In Chapter 11, N-B focus on the ways in which the French State limits local law enforcement, citing historical examples of Parisian mob behavior to illustrate how this distrust of local power was a contributing factor to the development of a highly centralized government. The levels of local administration (regional, departmental, and communal) are reviewed here, adding a lot of detail to what was presented in Section 1's online reading for Module 5. Beginning on p.150 is a discussion of the préfecture, which is like a "miniature of French government in each Département." N-B note that the historical origins of the idea of appointing officials to administer on behalf of the centralized authority go back to 1568, when the French crown had a network of thirty-six intendants throughout the country who collected taxes, carried out diplomatic functions, and even acted as spies. Préfets are likewise appointed to France's overseas departments, which are administered from Paris in the same way as those within the métropole. N-B present the example of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, which illustrates how the State supersedes any attempt at local government's taking charge of its own affairs or assuming any sovereignty. We see here how assimilation and centralization can produce a high level of equality and uniformity among the people.
Paris Long before France was a nation, Paris (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. became an important center of Roman Gaul. When Julius César named this little village on the banks of the Seine “Lutetia” in 52 B.C. it was a swampy place located on islands inhabited by a Celtic tribe known as the Parisii.
Today greater Paris (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. is a megalopolis of more than 11 million people, the second largest city in Europe after London. Paris is the cultural and political center of France. The capital is home to France's richest museums, greatest publishing houses, film and television studios, art, theater, fashion, and musical production. It is also the greatest industrial and commercial center of the country where 75% of all companies have their headquarters. One quarter of all university and post-graduate students flock to Paris to study, and it is from Paris that all air and overland transportation (airports, railways, highways) radiate and where they converge.
Within the beltway or “périphérique” live about 2 million people. They are the residents of Paris intra muros (those who inhabit the 20 districts or arrondissements (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. encircling the oldest part of Ile-de-la-Cité) and moving outward from the Seine in a snail-like spiral to the rim where the city gates are located. Beyond these gates or portes is Paris extra muros. These outlying areas include the eight departments of the Paris region served by the highly efficient Rapid Transit System known as the RER, whose suburban lines make it possible for commuters to move efficiently about the region.
Problems of Urban Life
For the average Parisian, life is not always easy. Housing within the city is prohibitively expensive, and what is available does not fulfill the dream of a little personal space with a garden. For this reason, many have chosen to live in the suburbs and commute from close-in bedroom communities. Since the 1980s, housing projects from the outer arrondissements to the suburbs closest to Paris have become overpopulated places where social tensions and violent confrontations between gangs and police often erupt. The events of October 2005, when police pursuit of two adolescents in the Paris working-class suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. ended tragically when they were electrocuted trying to hide in a high-voltage electricity sub-station, are a stark example of this disconnect which continues to flare. For those who can afford it, moving further out from the city to what are now the the exurbs offer more space, better living accommodations, and escape from the dangers of this volatility.
Commuting then becomes the challenge. Despite an excellent public transportation system that is readily available and continues to expand to meet growth, it is not enough. Traffic congestion still chokes the streets of the capital city and fouls the air. Five “new cities” in the outer crown have helped some suburbanites work closer to where they live. Two recent innovations in the Paris region reflect the ongoing effort to make the city air cleaner and the inner city more accessible:
· " Vélib (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site." or the inexpensive bicycle rental modeled after its installation in Lyon (since 2005) and in other European cities such as Amsterdam. (See note 1 below.)
· a tramway (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. built by the RATP (Paris Metro System) that serves roughly the southern third of the city of Paris. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
The problems of urban life are not unique to Paris. France's demographics have shifted dramatically since World War II and the economic recovery that transformed what was formerly an agriculturally based population into an urbanized population has changed the way of life of the average person. In 1850, only one of every four French people lived in the urban areas, Today it is the inverse: there are four French people living in the city or suburbs for every one left back in the village. Besides Paris, there are three other major urban centers that have over a million residents: Lyon (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., the first Roman capital of Gaul located in the Rhône-Alpes area; the original Greek port of Marseille (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. on the Mediterranean coast; and the area around the city of Lille (Lille-Roubaix-Tourcoing), situated in the north-east. Link (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
As these and other areas of France have grown and developed, they have had to face the problems that challenge all large urban centers: overcrowding, pollution, crime, unemployment, housing shortages, etc.
Départements et Régions d'outre-mer (DOM-ROMs)
After World War II during the breakup of its colonial empire, some of France's possessions chose to remain part of France and are retained as overseas departments and territories today.
The five DOM-ROMs are Guadeloupe (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., Martinique (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., French Guiana (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., Réunion (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., and since March 2011 Mayotte (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., which puts their citizens on par with those living on the mainland. All the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of any French citizen are enjoyed by the people of these overseas departments. The infrastructure is well maintained since there is a préfet with a budget from Paris to see to it that this is done. Children learn French in public schools that transmit the values of the French Republic as well as the language. Health care, police protection, disaster relief, and military defense are guaranteed to all citizens, and the préfet, who is rotated out of his/her post every three years, arbitrates in any local disputes. However, the downside of this situation is that unless citizens of overseas departments are employed by the French government, there is practically no opportunity for economic advancement. Everything is managed from Paris, so all economic and trade decisions are beyond the local population's control except through any influence they might exercise on locally elected officials through diplomatic channels.
Territories, Collectivities, and Special Status (COMs and TAAF)
France also maintains close ties with its overseas territories and collectivities.
Collectivities (COMs): Saint Pierre et Miquelon, French Polynesia, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, and Wallis and Futuna.
Austral and Antarctic Territories (TAAFs): At present French Southern and Antarctic Lands is the only overseas territory.
Special Status: In 1999 New Caledonia gained Special Status and began the process of a transfer of autonomy which is a 15-20 year process.
The DOM-ROMs and COMs have representation in the French Senate and receive economic subsidies, military defense, and other forms of assistance from France. Through language they are linked to the world community of French-speaking peoples known as la francophonie, which involves them in a community of cultural and political exchange organized by the French government.
1See the Los Angeles Time article: July 22, 2007: "Paris, city of bikes?" http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bikes22jul22,0,2022739.story?coll=la-home-center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Edmiston and Dumésnil. La France contemporaine. Thompson Heinle, 2005