Cities, Territories and Democratic Transition

In 2017, in the run-up to the French presidential elections, Futuribles launched a series of articles aimed at considering the lack of vision that is a recurrent theme in commentary on political life. With the presidential election now behind us, an election that produced a major recasting of the traditional political landscape, other changes were to be expected in the way political power is exercized at the highest levels of State. And there have admittedly been changes, but given the fierce outburst of discontent that emerged in late November 2018, these have not met the expectations of part of the French population. In fact, without going into the core issues that have roused the “yellow vests” and those who defend or condemn them, it seems appropriate, at this juncture, to resume this series. It is a local politician, Johanna Rolland, the mayor of Nantes, who gives her viewpoint here on what it means to have a political vision and the way that vision can and must be given concrete embodiment at the local level. She shows how this plays out in her metropolis and how citizens are involved in the change that is designed to meet the economic, social and ecological challenges of the area. In her view, both in our local authorities and at the national level, we are at the dawning of a democratic transition that must eventually enable us to respond to the various other transitions currently facing our societies.