Power to the People? An Analysis of Participatory Budgeting in Paris, France

Abstract

In France, the popularization of participatory budgeting is taking place against the backdrop of a global crisis of representative democracy and perennial reforms relating to the decentralisation of the power of the state agents. In this context, participatory budgeting is positioned by local governments as tool for enhancing solidarity among the public, and a medium to restore public trust in elected authorities. One of the goals of participatory budgeting is reducing the distance between the public and state authorities under the paradigm of “proximity democracy”. Simultaneously, the Parisian design of the participatory budgeting program allows for the status quo in the hierarchy of urban governance to be maintained. This article describes and analyses the participatory budgeting program which has been implemented in Paris since 2014. It examines the peculiarities of its organisation, provides key criticisms of its design, and places participatory budgeting in the context of Parisian urban policy. Particular attention is given to the implementation of participatory budgeting in so-called “priority neighbourhoods”—especially vulnerable residential areas, for which specific urban renewal policies are applied by Paris municipality (politique de la ville). This tandem is expected to strengthen the municipality’s efforts to reduce social and spatial inequality. Based on the analysis of indirect indicators, the authors established dependences between the implementation of participatory projects and the active participation of the public in their choice, and the patterns of socioeconomic differentiation of urban areas. For instance, the most gentrified city areas (1st, 7th, 8th, and 16th arrondissements) are distinguished by the least participatory activity, in contrast to the situation on the right bank of the Seine, where a policy of social mixing is actively pursued, and the share of the public engaging in participatory budgeting is relatively high. The analysis of the selected indicators for “priority neighbourhoods” shows the heterogeneity of the implementation of participatory projects in such areas. Based on the analysis, conclusions were formulated about the role of participatory budgeting in the French system of local government.