A new form of local government

The first priority of the City and Community team elected in Strasbourg in 2008 was to set an example of openness and representativeness. It began by forming a panel of candidates from very diverse origins, age groups, socio-professional categories and religions. Thus, some councillors come directly from civil society, others have worked in sectors as varied as health, the law, the economy, education, the services, business, research, culture or the public sector.

In one year, a new democratic organization has been set up within the City and Community councils. Thus,

> for the first time, the President of the Urban Community is an elected representative of one of the peripheral towns and villages and not of Strasbourg itself

> the deputy mayors have been given more room for manoeuvre

> the opposition has seen its status improved, in particular its working conditions

> the Socialist-Green partnership that governs the majority is based on critical and constructive dialogue

> dialogue is encouraged between the towns and villages through regular exchanges between the Vice-Presidents of the Urban Community of Strasbourg and the mayors.


The City’s inhabitants are now involved in the taking of major public decisions. The city council favours a participative form of democracy with the stated ambitions of initiating a constant dialogue at local level between the inhabitants of the city and their elected representatives, of thoroughly modifying the relationship between the ruled and the rulers. The latter act as the final arbiters after the project has first been submitted to the population.

In order to place the citizens at the heart of the decision-making process and get a better grasp of their expectations, but also to get people involved in public debate who would ordinarily remain outside it, the City and the Urban Community of Strasbourg have developed a whole series of concrete, innovative initiatives that place discussion and contact at the forefront of their action:

> Satisfaction surveys conducted with public service users, in the form of questionnaires and direct interviews. In December 2008, some 800 parents and about a hundred children were consulted on the modernization of the school meals system.

> Public consultations conducted by councillors on the major projects involving the future of the inhabitants such as the urban renovation of certain neighbourhoods or the extension of certain tram lines.

> Neighbourhood councils: these independent bodies, set up for a period of two years, have their own operating budget and are not attached to any political body. Meeting approximately once a month, the citizens organize the debates themselves, covering projects that have been submitted to them (opening of a cultural centre, renovation of a school, construction of a new gymnasium, route of a new cycle track) or any other neighbourhood-related topic with a collective interest. Their opinions are then integrated into the deliberations of the city council so that the councillors are aware of them before they make their decision or take the vote. But these councils also have the possibility of alerting the city councillors on specific issues.

Since December 2008, Strasbourg has had about ten of these councils, covering all the areas of the city. They consist of 1/3 representatives of associations and socioprofessional bodies, and 2/3 of inhabitants whose names are drawn from a hat or who have put themselves forward. Their participation is always voluntary and unpaid.
Their first opinions have been included in the deliberations of the city council. This initiative is still in the experimental stage. It is therefore being constantly monitored and assessed and remains liable to change. The councillors, for their part, must familiarize themselves with their new mission. To do so, they have been offered a course of training by the City over this first year. The introduction of these councils involved a great deal of preparatory work for the municipal team, involving public information meetings, meetings with associations and experts, an awareness-raising campaign, the introduction of a freephone number and a forum on the Internet and finally the installation of mobile stands in the different neighbourhoods. Following this communication effort, some 1,500 of Strasbourg’s citizens came forward as candidates for a total of 400 places available. Strasbourg how hopes to share this enterprise in participative democracy with other French and European cities in a network of pilot cities which may constitute a true “laboratory of innovation” in this field.
Click on this link www.vousaussi.org (in French only) to find out more.

> A consultative council of foreign residents allows us to revive the notion of the citizenship of residents. In the absence of legislation in France giving foreign residents voting rights in local elections, Strasbourg is currently setting up a body where people from countries outside the European Union can also have a voice and a channel for putting forward suggestions. People’s access to their rights, the fight against all forms of discrimination, how to change the way “foreigners” are depicted, valuing memory and promoting cultural diversity will be just some of the themes this body will examine.

> A youth council, made up of about 130 young people aged from 11 to 15 years, wishing to perfect their civic education. Their election in February 2009 on the Internet inaugurated an unprecedented experiment in cyber-democracy in Strasbourg. For 18 months, these young people will discover how the city is run, learn to debate and get involved in political choices in a wholly autonomous way. They will reflect on subjects as essential as the future of Europe, coping with disability or the protection of the environment. To find out more, simply browse the website www.cdj-strasbourg.org (in French only) . A Young People’s Assembly, for teenagers aged 15 to 18, has also been set up, with similar aims.

> The States General on Sport, conducted as a vast consultation exercise, involving both people who practice sport and those who do not, those involved in clubs and those who practise outside any formal structure. This consultation took the form of a survey with individual questionnaires as well as public conferences, at which genuine debates took place on the following themes: “Sport and health: what does sport contribute to wellness and health?”, “Sport and city neighbourhoods: what sports can be practiced in the city?”, “Amateur sport: an indispensable, but changing social link?”, “Top level sport, professional and events-based: an unavoidable dimension for large cities?”. Inaugurated in March 2008, these States General are intended to decide a policy on sport for the next five years, which will meet as far as possible the expectations of the inhabitants and the real needs of the city.

> The Conference on Culture, held in the form of a series of workshops, which throughout 2009 involved professionals, political decision-makers and inhabitants in what will be both a local approach and a reflection on Strasbourg’s cultural impact at regional, national, European and international level.