Local Participatory Governance and Representative Democracy

Abstract

French mayors are allowed to developanysystemthey wishforincludinginhabitants in urban planning, but since2002,the law on ‘grassroots democracy’ [démocratie de proximité], also called ‘Loi Vaillant’, statutes theminimum level of participationthathasto beorganizedby eachcity authorityin cities over 80,000 inhabitants(Blatrix, 2009).As a result, the mayor, who is the executive officialelected along with acity council every six years(Dion, 1986; Garraud, 1989; Mabileau, 1995), has thelegal obligation to put together “neighbourhood councils”whose role is strictly advisory.Members of the mayor’s majority in the city council may be part of these councils, and there is no strict obligation to givethema budget, to havethemmeet regularly or to take into account the results of their activity.Whether participation is pushed forward by mayors tryingto promote new forms of residentinvolvement in the city affairs,or controlledwithin the tight frameworkof the law, participation in French citiesis managed by the city administration. Thus, in France we should expect participatory governance to betightly connected to the constraints and imperatives of the leaders of each city –the mayors

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