“Whatever it takes”: first budgetary responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in France

Abstract

PurposeThis paper highlights the emergency budgetary measures taken by the French government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic health crisis and identifies some of the key political, economic, social and environmental factors and consequences associated with those measures.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a thorough analysis of official reports, bills and academic and news articles related to the pandemic management in France. The authors’ analysis covers the period from January 24 to July 31, 2020.FindingsDespite previous austerity policies, France faced the health crisis with a very high level of debt, which has complicated the management of the COVID-19 crisis. Although significant, the response brought by the French government seems in the end to be rather choppy.Originality/valueThis paper highlights three elements of analysis that allow a better understanding of the budgetary management process in France. The authors first discuss the notion of budgetary flexibility. Then, they show that the growth of participatory budgets in local communities gives hope for a possible and much needed decentralization process implying a stronger commitment of citizens. Finally, they highlight a budgetary paradox; that is, massive funding of polluting industries versus ecological issues. These three elements of analysis all advocate the need for a deeper engagement among different levels of government and actors.

Design of the participatory budget: how to turn citizens into process protagonists

“…This approach has the following characteristics: (1) it offers a practical orientation designed to solve relatively narrow issues (Fung and Wright, 2003); (2) it involves ordinary people who are affected by decisions, which creates bottom-up participation as citizens can provide more perspectives than PA can understand and take into account alone (Fung and Wright, 2003;Grote and Gbikpi, 2002); (3) it provides a deliberative solution generation (Fung and Wright, 2003) that aims to reach consensus based on the exchange of reasoned arguments (Brown and Dillard, 2015). Therefore, the implementation of PG can maximise the combination of the effectiveness in resource allocation with the achievement of social objectives (Cho et al, 2021;Vakulenko et al, 2020) in defining strategic decisions (Fung and Wright, 2003).…”

Participatory budgeting in covid-19 times: a perspective from Paraná and portuguese municipalities

“…This section addresses the aspects triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic on PB processes. In an uncertain environment, the barriers imposed by the health crisis caused restrictions to the realization of the mechanism (Bardovič & Gašparík, 2021;Bhusal, 2020;Cho et al, 2021;Poplawski, 2020). Portugal in the mid-1970s and Brazil in the mid-1980s, both of which provided for in their new National Constitutions instruments to promote citizen participation in politics (Falanga & Lüchmann, 2019).…”

“…A key aspect for carrying out the PB is the availability of resources for its funding (Bardovič & Gašparík, 2021). Restrictions on face-to-face meetings and reduced revenue are among the reasons used by local governments to suspend, cancel, change the deadline or in-person format of the PB process (Bardovič & Gašparík, 2021;Bhusal, 2020;Cho et al, 2021;Poplawski, 2020). Barriers of PB process arising from the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed by researchers in Slovakia, France, Poland and Nepal.…”

Odpowiedź polskich gmin na pierwszą falę kryzysu COVID-19

“…Pierwsze badania nad kryzysem COVID-19 koncentrowały się na aspektach społeczno-ekonomicznych, na poziomie epidemiologicznym i skali makro. Szeroko badany był wpływ pandemii na finanse rządowe (Cho, Jérôme i Maurice, 2020;Hale i in., 2020;Joyce i Suryo Prabowo, 2020). Wynika z nich, że rządy przyjmują różne strategie działania (Bouckaert, Galli, Kuhlmann, Reiter i Van Hecke, 2020;Raudla, 2021).…”