One could stick to the famous Shakespearean expression “much ado about nothing”!
In fact, the statement by the presidents of Toulouse Métropole, Jean-Luc Moudenc, and of the Nice Côte d’Azur Métropole, Christian Estrosi, is a testament to this: “the current conditions no longer allow us to calmly move towards the territorial reform announced by the Government concerning the evolution of metropolitan areas to a European scale.”
In other words, faced with resistance from the departments, at this delicate moment in public and political life, the President of the Republic and the government have chosen not to add fuel to the fire by refraining from reigniting what would likely be a strong opposition between urban and rural areas.
The two “reformers” have not lost all hope: “The major debate opened by the President of the Republic should provide the French people with the opportunity to express their views on the territorial organization of our country, and we also hope it will conclude with a referendum.”
On their side, the departmental representatives who prevailed in this standoff “express their satisfaction and emphasize the essential role of the departmental level in ensuring territorial cohesion and local democracy in their territories.”
“After the Metropolises of Nantes, Lille, and Bordeaux, the decision by Toulouse Métropole and the Nice Côte d’Azur Métropole to abandon the project of merging with the Departments is a sensible decision. At a time when national unity is shaken and when citizens are demanding more social and territorial justice and more local grassroots democracy, weakening the Departments would be nonsensical and a major political mistake,” they specify.
Conclusion: Is France not the country where we want to reform everything without changing anything? It must be the famous French exception!
