As part of our partnership with Forbes magazine, read an opinion piece by Arno Fontaine, economist at BSI Economics, who examines the optimal level of decision-making in response to the coronavirus crisis, between decentralization and centralization of power.
One of the debates that has frequently arisen during the Covid-19 crisis, both in economic and health terms, concerns the decentralization of the French state. This age-old debate between Jacobinism (defending the central state) and Girondinism (favoring greater federalism with a decentralized state) has been exacerbated by the health restrictions implemented in different regions and the emergency economic measures and stimulus packages introduced by the government. But what is the reality of the situation? Does the crisis mark a new phase in the push for decentralization, with regions gaining more power in comparison with the central government? And what are the economic benefits of a federal system?
Click here to read the opinion piece.
Photo credit: Forbes (2020)
