🔍 Is Alsace ready to say goodbye to Grand Est? Dive into the backstage of the ongoing debates to learn all about this possible separation! 🔍
Discussions between Alsace and the Grand Est region
The big maneuvers begin for Alsace: what will its place be, tomorrow, in the Grand Est region? In a favorable context for regional claims, this is the entirety of the issue at stake in the discussions that took place on Tuesday, May 14, between the president of the European Collectivity of Alsace, Frédéric Bierry, and the president of the region, Franck Leroy, at the invitation of the prefect of the region, Josiane Chevalier.
Incompatible positions between Alsace and the Grand Est region
This negotiation, which is taking place in a tense atmosphere, could end abruptly. After this first meeting focused on the working method, Mr. Bierry and Mr. Leroy are to meet again next week, one-on-one. They will get to the heart of the matter. And, at this stage, their positions seem incompatible.
Alsace’s desire to regain its autonomy
The people of Alsace wish to exit Grand Est in order to regain the autonomy lost in 2016, during the creation of a new region with Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne. They refer to the “mandate” received during a consultation organized in early 2022: 92% of the approximately 154,000 validated ballots (12% of the Alsace electoral body) requested a return to an autonomous region. Two new entities, Alsace on one side and Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine on the other, would be created, which could cooperate on certain issues, imagines Mr. Bierry.
The refusal of the Grand Est region
The departure of Alsace is out of the question, confides Mr. Leroy. For him, the debate was settled by the law of August 2019, which created the European Collectivity of Alsace by merging Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin into the Grand Est region. Mr. Leroy is willing to find a more efficient distribution of competencies between the region and Alsace, assuming one can be found. For, as he stated, no one has demonstrated that the region was failing. However, for Mr. Bierry, discussing a transfer of missions can only be a step towards exiting. If I receive a flat refusal, he warns, it will end our exchanges.
The intervention of Emmanuel Macron
In this negotiation, Mr. Leroy has a powerful ally: Emmanuel Macron. The head of state, who asked the two men to reach an agreement when he came to Strasbourg on April 26, does not want Alsace to exit. The question of transferring competencies must be reopened, but without making a grand institutional game, he believes, referring to sports, crafts, or trade.
