The limits to local participation and deliberation in the French ‘politique de la ville

Bibliographic Data

ID6257450
AuthorsYves Sintomer (0000-0002-8419-1275, Université Paris 8), Jacques De Maillard (0000-0001-5552-4723, Sciences Po Grenoble)
Year2007
Volume46
Issue4
Pages503-529
Publication date2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Political Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0304-4130 • E-ISSN: 1475-6765
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1475-6765.2007.00698.x
OpenAlexW2115447252
LanguageEN
Citations received32
References cited21

Over the past twenty years in France, the politique de la ville (a public policy initiative targeting impoverished urban areas) has constituted one of the main sources of renewal of the discourse concerning social participation. This article looks at whether it has led to a genuine democratisation of policy making. The following four questions are discussed: Have participatory procedures improved the efficiency of public policy? Have they fostered the strengthening of the social bond? Has setting up new procedures improved deliberation between political and nonpolitical actors? And has this new policy generated a renewal of local elites and modified the decision‐making process? The authors conclude that these different attempts have had only a very limited impact

Citizen journalism · Deliberation · Democracy · Democratization · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public policy · Sociology · Education, sociology, and vocational training · French Urban and Social Studies · Law · Public Administration · Social Sciences and Governance