Les élus locaux à l'épreuve de la décentralisation. De nouveaux chantiers pour la médiation politique locale

Abstract

Elected local officials and the test of decentralization In France, elected members of local authorities fulfil a mediating role traditionally centred upon the politico-administrative machinery of peripheral power. In the context of decentralization, and under the influence of rapidly changing socio-economie and cultural factors, this position, structured by access to institutional resources, has been complexified in a number of fields : certain interest groups now negotiate directly with elected politicians without respecting the hierarchies of corporatism à la française as codified by the state's grands corps; staffs have been set up by local authorities in order to provide a framework and fïlter for territorial public priorities ; mayors and the presidents of regional and departmental councils have become increasingly keen to communicate an image of their elective authority combining entrepreneurial spirit and values steeped in local identity. Based upon récent research on the promotion of local economie development, the protection of the environment, cultural development and amenagement du territoire, this article endeavours to analyse the emergence of three domains (sectoral, institutional and symbolic) which may announce a deepseated reorganisation of modes of regulating local politics in France.