Information, access to decision-making and public debate in France: The growing demand for deliberative democracy

Jean-Michel Fourniau

Science and Public Policy, 2001, vol. 28, issue 6, 441-451

Abstract: The National Commission on Public Debate (NCPD) is becoming the French reference in matters of participatory democracy. This article highlights the rules of procedure which distinguish the forums opened by the NCPD from the consultative committees set up in other areas of environmental policy-making. The public discussion of the projects expresses first and foremost a change in the nature of the conflicts, which concern today as much the legitimacy of the projects as the manner in which they are implemented. The experience of the first debates organised by the NCPD underlines the great potential of a really open forum to encourage the participation of the public. The four deliberative rules embodied in the independent Commission responsible for organising the debate constitute the originality of the procedure, by which a contradictory, pluralistic and egalitarian dialogue can take place between the participants. This gives a sense of democracy to the decision-making process as a whole. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Date: 2001
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