Les chambres régionales des comptes

THE DYNAMICS OF DEVOLUTION LIKE METHOD OF THE NEW RELATIONS CENTER-PERIPHERIES AND CHANGES OF THE METHODS OF THE SUPERVISION

[1) Devolution in the French case

Devolution proceeds in the French case of decentralization.

Technically speaking, devolution operates a dispossession of the central authorities of the State to the profit of territorial authorities which act within the framework of administrative units. There is a bond of subordination which, precisely, distinguishes devolution from decentralization.

The law of February 6, 1992, known as « Law Joxe », which was going to become president of Coure of the Accounts, thus allowed to evacuate the major part of the problems by applying the principle of subsidiarity, since the levels infra-nationals recovering the missions do not come under the responsibility immediately above. Decentralization thus has, by by-effect , to generate the devolution which thus appeared to the political leaders like the condition for a representation firm and coherent of the State, adapted to the news gives polycentric.

[2) Implementation a recent

Positioned well in the hierarchy of the priority defined by the Rocard government, since 1989, (and perpetuated by the Juppe government), it is also intended to answer three supposed factors to call into question the State : Lack of legitimacy of its local action, the fall of its technical capabilities, the crisis of motivation of its agents.

The movement benefits then from the creation of the projects of service [objective of modernization] and of the centers from responsibilities [autonomy of widened management] and it « revolution copernician »^26(*) is in particular devoted by the charter of devolution, is enacted in 1992, by introducing the principle of subsidiarity, is devoted on a European scale.

Several points are here to specify :

· The police headquarters ensure from now on a role of « design, of animation, evaluation and control »

· The external services from now on known as are decentralized

· The regional district assumes from now on policies of economic and regional development, of regional planning as well as the coordination of the rural areas and city, environment, food-growing policies.

· The prefect of Area has even capacities of direction on his departmental colleagues in the first two fields and he is an accountant of the application of the standard European

· The departmental district nevertheless is recognized as being the natural level of devolution of the administrative procedures. It is the level of common right of the implementation of the governmental and European policies, and its means are directly allocated by the police headquarters. The Prefect with faculty to be pressed on its heads of departments and project leaders for mission transversals.

* ²⁶ S. Verclytte, devolution in France, p.28, 1997.