A European Perspective on Intercommunal Cooperation in France: Territorial Reform Remains Incomplete

Bilan de l'intercommunalité à la française dans une perspective européenne : une réforme territoriale incomplète

Éric Kerrouche (1)

1 CED - Centre Émile Durkheim

This study examines the specific characteristics of French intercommunal cooperation as it has developed over the past 20 years. Through a comparison of structures at the municipal level in France with those in other European countries, and a discussion of the surge of intermunicipal cooperation, the study shows how the current situation is the result of a failed attempt to implement complete territorial reform. Despite the benefits of increased intercommunal cooperation, this failure has nevertheless had a pernicious effect on the current functioning of French municipalities as a whole.

Mots clés: territorial reform; Europe; municipalities; inter-communal co-operation

Mots clés: administration locale; intercommunalité; réforme territoriale; décentralisation

Domaines: Science politique

Éric Kerrouche. Bilan de l'intercommunalité à la française dans une perspective européenne : une réforme territoriale incomplète. Revue française d’administration publique, 2012, 141, pp.37-53. ⟨10.3917/rfap.141.0037⟩. ⟨halshs-00994259⟩