# Science Is Fun: The Merger of Regions

[Podcast] - Published on May 21, 2021 in Science and Society

Welcome to *La science s’aMuse*, the science show co-produced by UM and Divergence-FM, which takes you on a journey through the Muse laboratory archipelago. On the eve of the regional elections, and six years after the merger of the regions, CEPEL political scientist Emmanuel Négrier helps us assess the results of this reform.

Land in sight! Today we’re setting anchor in our territories—more specifically, in our regions. On January 1, 2016, France woke up to find itself with 13 regions instead of 22, following the entry into force of the law on regional boundaries. A law heralded as one of the cornerstones of Act III of the decentralization drive championed by François Hollande—which, as you may recall, did not come about without a struggle. From Alsace, fearing it would fall under Nancy’s control, to Nantes asserting its historic ties to Brittany, and the rather isolated Centre region, the map of France suddenly turned into a real headache.

Six years later, on the eve of the regional elections—the first since this reform was implemented—has it achieved its objectives? And what, exactly, were those objectives? How has this redistricting affected regional powers, which had already been reshaped by theNOTRe law, another key pillar of decentralization? We’re discussing this today with our guest, Emmanuel Négrier. He is a political scientist atCepel, the political science research center at the University of Montpellier. Together with Vincent Simoulin, a sociologist in Toulouse (well, well), he co-edited a collective work titled La fusion des régions : le laboratoire d’Occitanie.

Science is Fun—you’ve got the ticket, let’s go!

Production: University of Montpellier/Divergence-FM
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault/Lucie Lecherbonnier
Director: Bruno Bertrand

Tune in to the show “A LUM LA SCIENCE” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: Politics, Research, Company