Politicians and their parties lost their legitimacy

Democracy is down. Citizens are looking disillusioned on the public thing or they distrust. Politicians and their parties lost their legitimacy. Forbearance is the unfortunate surprise and the open wound the electoral rendez-vous. And the extreme threat without respite. How to break the divide between citizens and their representatives How associate "people" to the decisions of its elected officials Since Aristotle and his concept of "catharsis", allowing in fine society to assume its plurality and its differences , polling is both the heart and the song of the democracies. It is as old as the world of men, as their companies, also necessary for the modernization of their institutions. With the force of the contemporary crisis, with the expectations expressed in the population, on the eve of the presidential election, say that it is time to comment on a new model of governance.

With its use of civic expertise, with the principle of "citizens juries", Ségolène Royal supports on a spot which, under the witchcraft trial is done in return, suggests that she is right. Its proposals would strengthen the populism, they would impair the representative democracy, they would be devised under the diktat of the polls. Evoqués mainly in the political sphere, these arguments say a lot about the difficulty of French elites to build an institutional model where the citizen would have more space, would see its enhanced role, would benefit from greater recognition. For its part, to the assumptions of Ségolène Royal, the French are not only interested, but willing to participate in the experiment.

And for good reason! In the region, citizens are the appointment of participatory democracy initiatives that they are initiated by the regional councils themselves or by other actors such as municipalities, associations, trade unions. Never trade resulting hinder representative democracy. On the contrary, through this partnership agreed between elected officials and citizens, they are still the close, still a benefit to the collective, as much as they are the misunderstandings and misconceptions brakes. In Rhône-Alpes, in 2004, we had no apprehension to create the conditions for this meeting. It is always in a spirit of openness and confidence, feeling to participate in a large site of general interest, that we collected advice on our ambitions, our choice, on our policies.

"Building Alpes together" brought together more than 11,000 citizens and resulted in strengthening the regional project. Bodies representative news meet the need for information, develop participation, organize consultation prior to any decision. That they call Conference between organizations Union and employers to set our plan for employment from May 2004, agricultural Conference, the States General on research, regional Committee of associative life, local development councils, regional lines for express transport committees, all contribute to democracy. As our "citizens workshops", they have spearheaded this reinvented link. The first on the role and the future of rural areas in European societies brought together fifty people, drawn by lot among the 11,000 persons of "Building Alpes together". The second, early 2007, will focus on transport in Rhône-Alpes. In parallel, be a group of 30 said jurors citizens reflects instead administered in the evaluation of public policies, which remains the major weak point of the France.

Like us, other regions are: the Ile-de-France and its regional Youth Council, Aquitaine and its regional participatory development plan for the territory, the Calais with its funding of participation of the inhabitants, the Poitou-Charentes with his experiences of renewal of democracy. Many others in Europe: citizen juries in Berlin, participatory Urbanism in Bologna, portal of direct democracy in Estonia, participatory budgets in Spain... Contributions are blossoming. And we are told that none of this would have meaning, that we would be that the right of "instincts" I'm sure to the contrary. These practices experimental certainly, but that question correctly the role and organization of the State forcing us to reflect on our relationship to power, our relationship to the other, in the spirit of dialogue, in the sense of responsibility. And, if they lead us to us to question, to complete our projects, to seek what brings the benefit first serves democracy.

In reality, and the initiatives that I have just described are the evidence, the transaction is created. To elected officials, it is to accompany him to give a voice to those who don't have it, preserve and nurture the common good, in this serene communication between citizens and their representatives, respond to the challenges of the France. Citizen participation is today the hope of renewed democracy.