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| Disapproval Is Swift for French Merger Plan | Disapproval Is Swift for French Merger Plan |
| (3 months later) | |
| PARIS — France is a nation where regional identity is fierce, embodied in the sparkling wine of Champagne or choucroute, the sauerkraut revered in Alsace. | |
| Now, under a contentious proposal, President François Hollande wants to reduce the number of such administrative regions to 14 from 22, a move that would redraw the country’s map in an effort to cut costs as France stumbles through a period of economic stagnation. | Now, under a contentious proposal, President François Hollande wants to reduce the number of such administrative regions to 14 from 22, a move that would redraw the country’s map in an effort to cut costs as France stumbles through a period of economic stagnation. |
| Mr. Hollande has portrayed the plan as necessary to reduce a needlessly bloated bureaucracy in a country that has more than 100 departments, or subregions, and 36,000 officially recognized towns. | Mr. Hollande has portrayed the plan as necessary to reduce a needlessly bloated bureaucracy in a country that has more than 100 departments, or subregions, and 36,000 officially recognized towns. |
| “The time has come to simplify and clarify so that everyone knows who decides, who finances and from which resources,” he wrote late Monday in announcing the plan. | “The time has come to simplify and clarify so that everyone knows who decides, who finances and from which resources,” he wrote late Monday in announcing the plan. |
| But in a nation where a region can be defined by the pungency of its cheese, the proposal has aroused no small amount of indignation, both from those worried about cultural homogenization and from regional bureaucrats who stand to lose their jobs if their territories disappear. | But in a nation where a region can be defined by the pungency of its cheese, the proposal has aroused no small amount of indignation, both from those worried about cultural homogenization and from regional bureaucrats who stand to lose their jobs if their territories disappear. |
| Under Mr. Hollande’s proposal, regions that would merge include Alsace and Lorraine; Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes; and High and Low Normandy. Poitou-Charentes, Centre and Limousin would become one, as would Champagne-Ardenne and Picardie in northern France. Bourgogne, or Burgundy, famed for its boeuf bourguignon and wines, would be known as Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. | Under Mr. Hollande’s proposal, regions that would merge include Alsace and Lorraine; Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes; and High and Low Normandy. Poitou-Charentes, Centre and Limousin would become one, as would Champagne-Ardenne and Picardie in northern France. Bourgogne, or Burgundy, famed for its boeuf bourguignon and wines, would be known as Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. |
| Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front, which did well in May regional elections and trounced Mr. Hollande’s Socialist Party in recent European elections, immediately called for a referendum on the issue. On Tuesday she accused Mr. Hollande of threatening national unity by trying to mimic the decentralized regional model of Germany. | Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front, which did well in May regional elections and trounced Mr. Hollande’s Socialist Party in recent European elections, immediately called for a referendum on the issue. On Tuesday she accused Mr. Hollande of threatening national unity by trying to mimic the decentralized regional model of Germany. |
| “The president of the republic, because he does not know the history and traditions of his country, is intent on dividing his countrymen,” Ms. Le Pen said. | “The president of the republic, because he does not know the history and traditions of his country, is intent on dividing his countrymen,” Ms. Le Pen said. |
| On the other side of the political spectrum, the Party of the Left accused Mr. Hollande of putting the country’s identity at risk. | On the other side of the political spectrum, the Party of the Left accused Mr. Hollande of putting the country’s identity at risk. |
| “In the midst of a crisis of legitimacy, François Hollande is giving himself the right to profoundly reshape France or even make it disappear,” it said in a statement. | “In the midst of a crisis of legitimacy, François Hollande is giving himself the right to profoundly reshape France or even make it disappear,” it said in a statement. |
| The Socialists, still reeling from their poor electoral showing, are divided on the issue, and government officials admit privately that Mr. Hollande could face a challenge for the proposal to be accepted. It must be voted on in Parliament. | The Socialists, still reeling from their poor electoral showing, are divided on the issue, and government officials admit privately that Mr. Hollande could face a challenge for the proposal to be accepted. It must be voted on in Parliament. |
| Alain Rousset, a Socialist who is the president of the Association of French Regions, told Le Monde that the mergers would not yield economic savings. Others lamented what they called the forced merger of districts that had no common identity and history. | Alain Rousset, a Socialist who is the president of the Association of French Regions, told Le Monde that the mergers would not yield economic savings. Others lamented what they called the forced merger of districts that had no common identity and history. |
| Some analysts asked whether creating larger and ostensibly more influential regions could eventually benefit the National Front, which rails against the European Union and immigration, and has become a force on the regional level. | Some analysts asked whether creating larger and ostensibly more influential regions could eventually benefit the National Front, which rails against the European Union and immigration, and has become a force on the regional level. |
| But Le Canard Enchaîné, a satirical newspaper that is widely read by the French establishment, suggested that the redistricting plan was a desperate attempt to eradicate the National Front before it gained a stranglehold on certain regions. | But Le Canard Enchaîné, a satirical newspaper that is widely read by the French establishment, suggested that the redistricting plan was a desperate attempt to eradicate the National Front before it gained a stranglehold on certain regions. |