Dince the health crisis, transitions have made it even more important to have public authorities that inspire confidence in their ability to work in the general interest, so as not to leave anyone by the wayside… Which means seeing them act in an exemplary way , for the greater good of everyone, not just a few.
As local administrations are on the front line in the face of the negative consequences of transitions, the question arises in particular of how to reorganize their relationship with the State to achieve this objective.
Decentralization to catalyze state action
The trend of recent years in favor of expanded territories with reinforced skills, endowed with the means to organize their resilience in the face of events, seems set to continue.
However, three conditions are necessary for decentralization to be able to catalyze the action of the State in a direction consistent with the general interest.
The first is that of increased protection for local elected representatives vis-à-vis third parties, private individuals, economic operators or… political rivals. This is why we must not neglect the importance of the repression of attacks on honor – defamation, slanderous denunciation – linked to electoral or partisan confrontations, nor that of attacks on dignity – harassment at work, insults, discrimination .
This is also why it is advisable to avoid any instrumentalization of the trial against elected officials, while ensuring at the same time that the law is “the same for all, whether it protects or punishes” (art. 6 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen).
The second condition relates to the necessary rationalization of the administrative layer cake. Making the territories real counter-powers to the State presupposes reviewing the size and competence of the constituencies, and allowing them to appropriate the new tools at their disposal to adapt their powers to their local particularities (differentiation of skills, experience, etc.).
The last condition relates to the accountability of the financial means available to local administrations. It is not because the State refuses any principle of local financial autonomy that it can dispense with respecting their budgetary autonomy. This must be sanctuarized, so as to allow those concerned to take the most appropriate measures for the events… even if it means spending money to take legal action against it in the event of a breach of its climate obligations, as the city of Grande did. -Synthe (North).
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