France considers redrawing the map

France is made up of a mind-boggling 36,000 communes, 4,000 cantons, 100 departements and 22 regions

By Alasdair Sandford
BBC News, Paris

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has launched a controversial plan to alter the political map of France via a shake-up of local and regional government.

But in the face of fierce opposition to ideas to merge regions, do away with entire departments or counties, and create a "Greater Paris", some of the more radical proposals have been shelved.

The multi-layered structure of French government has been compared to a millefeuille, the renowned cream and pastry dessert.

Out of the question to meddle with the Auvergne! French minister

Sitting on top of more than 36,000 communes are 4,000 cantons, 100 departments, 22 regions, and finally the imposing weight of the centralised national government in Paris.

As one politician put it, France is trying to make the millefeuille more digestible.

But the ideas, put forward by a committee chaired by the former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur, have brought cries of fury around the country - and some dissent within the government.

Names left out

"Out of the question to meddle with the Auvergne!" said one junior minister, trying to appease local anguish that the Massif Central region might be merged with neighbouring Limousin.

To placate the outcry, the names of regions have been left out of the final report submitted to President Sarkozy.

Also on hold are plans to let Brittany swallow up the Loire-Atlantique, and to do away with the Poitou-Charentes region - a move that, for her opponents, would have conveniently zapped former Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal's local power base.

Plans to merge the troubled suburbs with Paris have been shelved

Many Socialists see the reforms as an attempt to reduce their influence in regions where they have large majorities.

However, the government says it wants to make the system simpler, more efficient and less expensive.

Some of the loudest protests have come from Picardy, to the north of Paris.

There is a strong sense of regional identity and pride that the area has its own language, Picard.

Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition and a website is being created, objecting to the proposal to split the area between the Parisian metropolis and the north.

Xavier Bertrand, head of the centre-right governing UMP party and one of the president's inner circle, effectively backed his native region by calling for a referendum over any move to alter its boundaries.

The idea for a "Greater Paris" may not see the light of day for some time.

At present the French capital and its two million residents are hemmed in by a boundary defined by the peripherique, or ring road, beyond which stretch the suburban towns and poor housing estates of the banlieue.

There has been a long debate over how to improve the relationship between the two.

The Balladur plan wanted a larger Paris to engulf three neighbouring departments.

Opposition Socialists, and in particular the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, argued strongly for a Paris-Metropole to include all the surrounding areas.

Because of the lack of consensus, President Sarkozy has sent the project back to the drawing board.

More arguments

Less controversial is a plan to grant metropolitan status to 11 of the largest French cities, giving them some responsibilities currently held at departmental level.

A move to create one single assembly for France's overseas departments and regions has been retained.

Mr Sarkozy says he remains committed to the principle of reform

Consultations will begin in Guadeloupe next month, when the president himself is due to visit following the recent social unrest on the Caribbean island.

The final Balladur report recommends that changes to regions and departments be done on a "voluntary" basis.

President Sarkozy remains committed to the principle of reform, but has promised more debate before a draft law goes before parliament in the summer.

Many more arguments lie ahead before the future shape of the French political millefeuille is known.