But qualitatively the balance sheet is very mixed

They will speak to this or almost. Elected officials met today and in Montpellier for their 19th convention, under the leadership of the Association of the communities of France (ADCF), tomorrow were eager to see the Government launched the reform of the intermunicipal. Local democracy Bill, whose frame has been transmitted to the associations of elected representatives, must provide. The text prepared by the services of Alain Marleix, Secretary of State for local communities, will be before the Council of Ministers aware December and examined at first reading by the Senate in early 2009.

The Government has made the choice to sever this Bill, whose writing is almost completed, the work of reflection on the clarification of local authorities, which will be given by the Elysee to Edouard Balladur (read below), and the reform of local taxation that will result in the reconfiguration of the local structures. "In fact, these are the three floors of a same rocket", it says in the entourage of Alain Marleix. Nicolas Sarkozy in specified the objective last month: produce savings through a profound restructuring of the local institutional framework.

Paradoxically, the intermunicipal, of which one of the aims was to rationalize public expenditure, has not limited the fee structure. Of course, Act Chevènement of 1999 resulted in its expansion, with nearly 600 communities agglomeration or created Commons between 2001 and 2008, and coverage almost complete L'hexagone, common 3,000 including Paris. But qualitatively the balance sheet is very mixed. There are more reports which denounce the inconsistency of the perimeters of these intercommunalités that most professional tax (TP), lean content of the skills exercised or the opportunism of some municipalities to Pocket financial incentives to reunification paid by the State. Both and so that the famous "territorial sages" took more weight in lost.

Bill Marleix wants relieve it of these "empty shells" that often became the Commons to vocation unions 16,000 unique (Sivu) or multiple (Sivom) that litter the territory. It is also to ensure that no municipality will act out any intermunicipal in 2014, date of the renewal of community assemblies. Holdings of the State could be in balance to encourage recalcitrant to return to the ranks, but nothing is yet acted on this point.

Universal suffrage

In addition and to force the March towards mergers and extensions of communities too small, departmental patterns of cooperation intercommu.

criminal (SDCI), initiated by Brice Hortefeux, the predecessor of Alain Marleix, will be revived under the leadership of the prefects and will, this time, enforceable character. To put an end to costly duplication, communities will be an organic amendment to manage without barriers that sometimes work for it, sometimes for common members. "It is lastingly secure pooling practices." "Currently, they are likely to be challenged conventions", says an expert.

Beyond the intermunicipal announced long grooming, the Bill contains a provision of size: the election of the community as from 2014 elected by universal suffrage. In the next municipal and on the model of the PLM law, candidates occupying the top of each list a polling mode apply to Commons more than 1,000 inhabitants and not more than 3,500 people will be at the same time eligible for the Community Council. "It is a step forward, but it does not solve everything", said a representative of the urban communities (CU). Their association, meeting in Congress today and Brest, tomorrow calls for specific constituencies beyond the common "is not to scale" of these large intercommunalités. Finally, the Presidency of a community will enter in the rule of pyramiding of mandates. This provision promises tough debates because it prohibits to assume this function while being mayor, as is the case in Lyon, Nantes, Cherbourg, Dunkerque and Arras.