{"id":2583,"date":"2019-05-09T18:32:02","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T16:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/missionspubliques.org\/grand-debat-national-regional-citizens-conferences-to-reconnect-people-and-politics\/"},"modified":"2021-09-09T10:11:15","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T08:11:15","slug":"grand-debat-national-regional-citizens-conferences-to-reconnect-people-and-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/missionspubliques.org\/grand-debat-national-regional-citizens-conferences-to-reconnect-people-and-politics\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Grand D\u00e9bat National: regional citizens\u2019 conferences to reconnect people and politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row el_class=\u00a0\u00bbcontainer vls_mauto specialcontainer\u00a0\u00bb css=\u00a0\u00bb.vc_custom_1584741777440{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\u00a0\u00bb][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=\u00a0\u00bbvls_projets_single_texte vls_black2″]Teams from\u00a0Missions Publiques<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Res publica<\/a>\u00a0worked with the Grand D\u00e9bat<\/em> mission to run a series of regional citizens\u2019 conferences over several weeks in various cities in mainland France and the French overseas territories.<\/p>\n

This initiative fell within the scope of the\u00a0Grand D\u00e9bat National<\/a>\u00a0and was designed to allow randomly selected citizens to share their expectations on four key themes:\u00a0taxation<\/a>, the\u00a0ecological transition,<\/a>\u00a0democracy<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0the organization of the State and public services<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was the largest citizens\u2019 debate ever held in France and the most wide-ranging in terms of the topics covered. For Yves Mathieu, co-director of Missions Publiques, the goal was to renew dialogue between citizens and their elected representatives: \u201cPeople express a genuine desire to talk politics in a non-partisan and respectful manner. They no longer want to be mere consumers of public policy. By organizing participatory conferences and encouraging people to speak up and engage in dialogue, the State is drawing on its citizens\u2019 collective intelligence, and great things come from it!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In all, 19 regional citizens\u2019 conferences were held, each lasting a day and a half. There were small group discussions between five to seven people, supported by volunteer facilitators, alternating with plenary sessions where the ideas developed were shared. A special conference devoted to youth was also organized, attended by participants aged 18 to 25.<\/p>\n

These days were attended by a total 1,404 participants selected via the random generation of telephone numbers and invited to come and air their views on the various themes.<\/p>\n

One of the proposals most often cited by the citizens questioned was a demand for consistency in government action and public policies, particularly concerning the ecological transition. \u201cMany participants highlighted the unfairness of certain state measures. For example, they are made to feel guilty about their car\u2019s carbon footprint while a single ferry from Marseille to Ajaccio pollutes more than thousands of cars running for several days, yet isn\u2019t taxed<\/em>,\u201d said Judith Ferrando.<\/p>\n

The question of good quality agricultural production, related to the revitalization of rural areas and health matters, also came up several times. \u201cWe would like to see a real effort to revitalize our countryside. We would like to be able to eat more healthily, thanks to local agriculture. For our health, of course, but also to restore the value of farm work<\/em>,\u201d a participant stated.<\/p>\n

Analysis of the regional citizens\u2019 conferences also revealed several important points:<\/p>\n