Metropolization Process in the Polish and French Local Governments

Abstract

The article is aimed at presenting the stages of the metropolization process in both the Polish and French local governments, in order to establish the projected vectors of change, notably within the scope of Polish metropolitan solutions. In both legal orders, as many as three stages of the metropolization process can be distinguished in the legal context: the preparatory stage, the stage comprising the universal pattern and the third – presenting the current pattern of metropolitan institutions. The analysis of the metropolization stages unambiguously indicates the incomplete metropolization institutionalization process in both legal orders, comprising the search for the proper legal form for metropolitan areas, in order for these structures to effectively perform tasks of a supra-local nature. In both cases, the evaluation of the metropolization process constitutes an important element of the discussion on the vectors of change as regards the position of the metropolis in the modern local government. The article features both the dogmatic-legal and legal-comparative methods.