The Alsace single territorial collectivity referendum (french: référendum sur la Collectivité territoriale d'Alsace) was a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
held on Sunday, 7 April 2013 in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, which aimed at the creation of the
single territorial collectivity
A single territorial collectivity (french: collectivité territoriale unique) is a chartered subdivision of France that exercises the powers of both a region and a department. This subdivision was introduced in Mayotte in 2011, in French Guian ...
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...
and
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is the ...
. Even though there was a 57.65% majority of "Yes" votes, the project was not approved, as two other requirements (a majority in favour in both departments and a voter quorum) were not met.
Criteria
In order for the proposal to be approved, the votes in favour needed to be a majority in both departments (and at least 50% overall) and represent at least 25% of eligible voters ( votes in Bas-Rhin and votes in Haut-Rhin).
Opinions
Political parties
NB: These are the opinions expressed by the national boards of each party, even if there might be different opinions inside the parties.
;Yes
*
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...
*
Europe Ecology – The Greens
Europe Ecology – The Greens (french: Europe Écologie Les Verts , EELV ) is a centre-left to left-wing green political party in France. The party is a member of the European Green Party. The party was formed on 13 November 2010 from the merge ...
*
Democratic Movement
A democracy is a political system, or a system of decision-making within an institution or organization or a country, in which all members have an equal share of power. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate ...
*
Unser Land
Unser Land ( en, Our Land) is a political party in the France, French region of Alsace, established in 2009. It is member of the Fédération Régions et Peuples Solidaires in France and the European Free Alliance of the European Union.
It was for ...
*
Alsace d'abord
Alsace First ( gsw, Elsass Zuerst, EZ; french: Alsace d'abord, ADA), formerly the Alsatian Regionalist Movement (french: links=no, Mouvement régionaliste alsacien) from 1998 to 2002, is a political party based in Alsace, France, established in 198 ...
*
Union of Democrats and Independents
The Union of Democrats and Independents (french: Union des démocrates et indépendants, UDI) is a Centrism, centre to Centre-right politics, centre-right list of political parties in France, political party in France and former Electoral alliance ...
Left Front (France)
The Left Front (french: Front de gauche, FG or FDG) was a French electoral alliance and a political movement created for the 2009 European elections by the French Communist Party and the Left Party when a left-wing minority faction decided to ...
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...
)
*
New Anticapitalist Party
The New Anticapitalist Party (french: Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste , abbreviated NPA) is a far-left political party in France founded in February 2009. The party launched with 9,200 members and was intended to unify the fractured movements o ...
Citizen and Republican Movement
The Citizen and Republican Movement (French language, French: ''Mouvement républicain et citoyen'') is a political party in France. The party replaced in 2002 the Citizens' Movement (''Mouvement des citoyens'', MDC) founded by Jean-Pierre Chev ...
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views.
The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major po ...
(PS)
** PS 68 and independent elected representatives – Alsace:Le PS divisé sur le référendum en Alsace , '' Agence Bretagne Presse'', 31 mars 2013. Yes
** Intergroupe élus socialistes et républicains d'Alsace: No
Opinions of politicians
''In alphabetical order''
* Support :
François Bayrou
François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has presided over the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since he founded it in 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections. ...
(
MoDem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
Jean-François Copé
Jean-François Copé (; born 5 May 1964) is a French politician serving as Mayor of Meaux since 1995 with an interruption from 2002 to 2005. He was Government Spokesman between 2002 and 2007, when assumed other tenures in the government—inclu ...
Hervé Morin
Hervé Morin (born 17 August 1961) is a French politician of the Centrists who has been serving as the first President of the Regional Council of Normandy since January 2016. Under President Nicolas Sarkozy, he was the Minister of Defence.
Poli ...
Philippe Richert
Philippe Richert (born 22 May 1953) is a French politician of The Republicans party (known as the Union for a Popular Movement until 2015), president of the regional council of Grand Est from 2016 to 2017. He previously was the president of the ...
François Asselineau
François Asselineau (, born 14 September 1957) is a French politician and an Inspector General for finances.
Asselineau was a member of the Rally for France (RPF) and UMP before creating his own political party the Popular Republican Union (U ...
(UPR), Martine Binder (FN),
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (; born 7 March 1961), sometimes referred to by his initials NDA, is a French politician serving since 2008 as President of minor party Debout la France. He is its only member of the National Assembly, elected for Essonne' ...
( DLR), Nicolas Chevalier-Roch (DLR), Pierre Freyburger (PS), Constant Goerg (DVD), Pierre Laurent ( PCF),
Marine Le Pen
Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its pre ...
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône from 2017 to 2022. He led the ''La France Insoumise'' group in the Nation ...
L'Alsace-Le Pays
''L'Alsace-Le Pays'' is a regional daily French newspaper. ''L'Alsace'' covers the Alsace region and ''Le Pays'' the Franche-Comté region.
History and profile
''L'Alsace-Le Pays'' was created in November 1944. In addition to its headquarters in ...
'', 17 mars 2013. (PS).
Results
Bas-Rhin
Haut-Rhin
Debates after the poll
The negative result of the April referendum was called into question in July 2013 as part of the draft law concerning the "modernization of territorial public action" and the "affirmation of metropolises", with amendment no 745 of UMP MP
Hervé Gaymard
Hervé Gaymard (born 31 May 1960) is a French politician and a member of The Republicans conservative party. He served as the country's Minister of Finances from 30 November 2004 until his resignation on 25 February 2005.
Gaymard attended Sc ...
abolishing the requirement for a referendum consultation to change the size of local authorities. After several delays, the Mixed Parity Committee finally abolished it in December 2013. However, on 25 June 2014, an amendment by rapporteur
Michel Delebarre
Michel Delebarre (27 April 1946 – 9 April 2022) was a French politician who was a member of the Senate of France. He represented the Nord department, and was a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche. He was also mayor of ...
( PS), adopted on 4 July, "abolishes the compulsory consultation of voters in the event of a change in the boundaries of regions and departments as well as in the event of a merger".
In Alsace, on 22 September 2014, the elected representatives of the two general councils and those of the regional council voted 101 out of 122 in favour of a motion for the return of the council of Alsace as the only alternative to the territorial reform of the government which proposes the merger of Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne. A demonstration with ambivalent demands (against the Grand Est region, but also for the single council of Alsace) was co-organized by the regional elected representatives on 11 October, with the implementation of a single TER fare at €5 for demonstrators, throughout the region (the prefect has also announced that he will initiate a check of its legality). It brings together 7,000 to 8,000 people according to the authorities and 10,000 to 20,000 according to the organizers. In the debates of the Senate, which finally ended in favour of a unified Alsace in some form, the question of a single council of Alsace has also come up regularly on the table.
The two departments would eventually be grouped together into the
European Collectivity of Alsace
The European Collectivity of Alsace (french: Collectivité européenne d'Alsace; gsw-FR, D'Europäischa Gebiatskärwerschàft Elsàss; german: Europäische Gebietskörperschaft Elsass) is a territorial collectivity in the Alsace region of France. ...
in January 2021.
References
{{Elections in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...