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| Conseil régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais | |
|---|---|
| Name | Conseil régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais |
| Established | 1982 |
| Dissolved | 2016 |
| Succeeded by | Hauts-de-France |
| Location | Lille |
Conseil régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais was the elected regional council located in Lille that administered the former French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais from the decentralization reforms of the early 1980s until territorial reform in 2016, operating alongside institutions such as the Prefect of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and interacting with bodies including the Assemblée nationale, the Sénat (France), and the European Union. The council played roles in regional planning coordinated with entities like the Région administrative, the Conseil général du Nord, the Conseil général du Pas-de-Calais, and cross-border frameworks such as the Benelux and the Channel Tunnel corridor.
The council emerged after the 1982 Deferre laws decentralization that followed debates in the French Fourth Republic and the French Fifth Republic over territorial organization, joining earlier administrative legacies linked to the Industrial Revolution in France, the Second Industrial Revolution, and the coalfields of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin. Its proceedings intersected with events like the 1973 oil crisis aftermath, the restructuring prompted by the Common Agricultural Policy, and the regional responses to closures tied to Compagnie des mines de Béthune and unions such as the Confédération générale du travail and the Confédération française démocratique du travail. Key political episodes involved interactions with figures from parties including the Parti socialiste (France), the Rassemblement pour la République, and the Mouvement républicain populaire in regional elections influenced by national contests like the 1995 French presidential election and the 2002 French legislative election.
The council consisted of elected conseillers régionaux chosen under the regional electoral system influenced by laws debated in the Assemblée nationale (France) and the Conseil constitutionnel (France). Political groups represented parties such as the Parti socialiste (France), the Union pour un mouvement populaire, the Parti communiste français, the Europe Écologie Les Verts, the Front national, and the Union démocratique du centre. Presidents of the council included members drawn from municipal elites of Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Calais, and Dunkerque, often negotiating with mayors from parties like the Parti radical de gauche and alliances with the Mouvement des entreprises de France and Union patronale organizations.
Statutory competencies derived from laws such as the Decentralisation laws (France) and involved in domains overlapping with the European Regional Development Fund, the Plan d'aménagement et de développement durable du territoire, and transport authorities like the Société nationale des chemins de fer français for regional rail and the Métropole Européenne de Lille for urban projects. The council managed responsibilities in vocational training linked to institutions such as the Université de Lille, economic development programs coordinated with the Agence nationale pour la rénovation urbaine and industrial conversion efforts related to entities like ArcelorMittal and TotalEnergies. Cultural patronage connected to the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, heritage preservation in mining sites classified under UNESCO World Heritage Site proposals, and support for festivals such as La Braderie de Lille and venues like the Opéra de Lille.
Financial operations were conducted within frameworks set by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (France), influenced by fiscal rules from the Trésor public and European fiscal coordination via the European Commission. Revenue sources included allocations from the Dotation globale de fonctionnement, regional taxation instruments affected by reforms under governments like those of François Mitterrand and Nicolas Sarkozy, and cofinancing with the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. Expenditure priorities funded infrastructure projects such as the LGV Nord, vocational institutes tied to the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de région Nord de France, and social programs administered with local partners like the Secours populaire français.
Major initiatives encompassed industrial reconversion programs responding to the decline of coal and steel involving companies like Peugeot and the Areva group, transport investments including the Réseau Ferré de France modernization and support for regional airports such as Aéroport de Lille-Lesquin, and urban renewal projects in the Grand-Place, Lille area coordinated with the Agence nationale pour la cohésion sociale et l'égalité des chances. The council promoted cross-border cooperation in schemes with Watten, the Flanders region, the Kent County Council through Channel links, and transnational projects under Interreg that connected institutions such as the University of Kent and Ghent University. Cultural policies supported museums like the La Piscine (Roubaix) and preservation efforts at sites like Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.
Administrative headquarters were based in Lille with services organized into directorates akin to regional administrations in other French regions, working with prefectures such as the Prefecture of Nord and the Prefecture of Pas-de-Calais. The council employed technical staff collaborating with bodies like the Agence de l'environnement et de la maîtrise de l'énergie and planning agencies including the Plan Urbanisme Construction Architecture (PUCA), and interfaced with municipal governments of Lens, Arras, Béthune, and Saint-Omer. Internal committees oversaw sectors aligned with national agencies including the Agence nationale de la recherche and educational establishments such as Université de Valenciennes.
Following territorial reform enacted by the Acte III de la décentralisation and the 2014 law on the new Regions of France map, the council was merged in 2016 into the new regional assembly of Hauts-de-France, incorporating the former region of Picardy in administrative consolidation similar to mergers elsewhere such as the creation of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The legacy includes infrastructural legacies like the LGV Nord corridor, social policies influencing labor markets in former mining towns like Liévin, cultural institutions supported in Roubaix and Dunkirk, and institutional precedents for cross-border cooperation with Belgium and the United Kingdom, remaining subjects of study for scholars at institutions such as the École des hautes études en sciences sociales and the Sciences Po network.
Category:Politics of Hauts-de-France