The City of Nantes and
the Urban Community

The City of Nantes

The Mayor

The Mayor [“le maire ”], who is elected for six years by an absolute majority of the Municipal Council, holds the highest public office in the Commune [a Commune being the smallest basic unit of French local government] and is the person responsible for the Commune's staff. The person behind the Municipal Council’s decisions, he presides over the Council’s meetings and implements its decisions. The initiator of the Budget, he orders expenditure, determines revenues, signs contracts and administers the Commune’s assets and liabilities. With his 21 Deputies [“adjoints”], including 2 special Deputies for Doulon and Chantenay, the Mayor runs the municipal services, represents the Commune in all legal instruments and transactions and publishes and applies the laws and regulations of the French Republic in the Commune, and organises the elections. As the Commune’s police authority, the Mayor exercises that power by means of orders [“arrêtés”]. As the Civil Registrar [Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages], he solemnises marriages and records births and deaths.

The Municipal Council

The Municipal Council [“Conseil Municipal”] “governs the Commune’s affairs by its deliberations”. In Nantes, the Council consists of 65 municipal councillors, elected for six years by direct universal suffrage. The Municipal Council votes on the City’s Budget, monitors its implementation and sets the rate for the Commune’s share of household taxes. It authorizes borrowings and draws up the accounts.

The Municipal Council in 2008

"The Municipal Council at the conclusion of its first session
(March, 2008)"

In 2008, the Municipal Council met 6 times and passed 190 resolutions and 302 decisions, and 934 orders were adopted by the Mayor and his Deputies.

A chance for Nantes citizens to speak out

Nantes offers its citizens many opportunities for dialogue. The Neighbourhood Municipal Teams and the deputies [Adjoints] ensure a local presence, while 11 Neighbourhood Councils will take place the Consultative Committees. Other (more specialised) organisations endeavour to gather the opinions of specific audiences, organisations such as the Conseil Nantais de la Jeunesse [Nantes Youth Council] or the Conseil Nantais pour la Citoyenneté des Etrangers [Nantes Council for the Citizenship of Foreigners]. Nantes Metropolis follows the same logic of splitting the tasks among the 10 Proximity Centres [“pôles de proximité”] and consultation bodies such as the Ateliers du Déplacement [Transportation Workshops] or the Conseil de Développement [Development Council], which brings together 100 members from civil society.

Nantes Metropolis

Seven years after its creation – Nantes Metropolis is now acknowledged as a major player in Nantes’ development. It brings together and coordinates the action of 24 Communes, at the service of 580,000 inhabitants. Its Chairman, the Community’s executive, is the institution’s key figure. He is elected by the Community councillors; he prepares and implements the resolutions of both deliberating bodies: the Community Council and the Bureau.
Alongside them, they are assisted and advised by 8 Commissions, bodies generating research and proposals, as well as the Development Council, consisting of 100 members, deriving from the Conglomeration’s socio-economic and association circles.
The Conurbation is split into 10 Proximity Centres where more than 900 staff work, with, as their principal task, the management of proximity as regards management of the public space, cleanliness, highways, public lighting, signage and markings, or economic development. The area of the City of Nantes is split into seven Centres [“pôles”], consisting of three Divisions in the very centre of Nantes and four that are common to outlying Communes. A local Consultative Commission is provided for in each Centre.