Resumen de The french regions and the european union: between Change and Resilience
Since the mid-1980s, European policies have been identified as a key variable in the empowerment of regions. This ongoing process challenges center/periphery relations in France. Are we therefore witnessing a Europeanisation of French regions? I first analyse the process of regionalisation in France and the role played by the regions in the institutional architecture of French decentralisation. This historical idiosyncrisy explains the current structural handicap of the French regions in terms of political capacity. Secondly, I argue that the implementation of EU policies produced changes in French center/periphery relationships. I explore three dimensions of Europeanisation in the case of France: (1) the adaptation of regional development policies, (2) the developement of new networks of regional paradiplomacy, and (3) the evolution of the constitutional and institutional structures.
