Action plan – Paris, France, 2024 – 2026

At-a-Glance

Duration

Dec 2026

Date Submitted

29th March 2024

Foreword(s)

Since 2014, the Mayor of Paris has engaged in open government around three key principles:

• Opened municipal action
• Deciding with Parisians
• Tansforming the city of Paris into « working together »

In 2015, the city of Paris joined the 15 leading/pioneering cities in the local OGP. The first two action plans the city of Paris undertook within the OGP framework (2017-2019; 2019-2021)  made it possible to pursue, develop, and ensure several open government reforms on a variety of subjects: participatory budgeting, transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More of public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... and open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici..., ecological and inclusive transition, democratic innovation, …

Ms. Anouch Toranian, deputy mayor in charge of citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More, and Mr. Arnaud Ngatcha, deputy mayor in charge of international relations, are responsible for this third action plan, which follows on from the previous two. It ensures the follow-up of reforms aimed at citizen participation and open government, focusing on Europe and climate change.

Each of the commitments has undergone an independent co-construction process between 2021 and early 2024, involving online consultations, meetings with stakeholders and participative bodies within the City of Paris.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

This subsection details the Open Government Strategic Vision in your local area that should guide the commitments for the action plan period.

What is the long-term vision for open government in your context and jurisdiction?

For several years now, the City of Paris has tested, developed, and consolidated new forms of citizen participation.  Parisians have a wide range of means for democratic action by adding items to the political agenda, expressing recommendations to support the City in its choices within different participatory bodies, and advising on the orientation of the investment budget with the introduction of the Participatory Budget. In addition, specific new schemes such as the Paris Volunteers program give Parisians the resources they need to participate.

The City of Paris wishes to continue implementing this ongoing democracy, which combines representative and participatory democracies. To achieve this, it encourages an approach based on experimentation and action on the one hand, and evaluation and improvement on the other.

In response to today’s democratic challenge, we are now taking a new step forward with the introduction of three new systems designed to embody a genuine democratic continuum for Parisians.

What are the achievements in open government to date (for example, recent open government reforms)?

The achievements in open government of the city of  Paris are many :

• Parisian Participatory budget allocates a quarter of the City of Paris’ investments to projects directly selected and proposed by citizens. In 2021, “majority judgment” was introduced as a voting method to take better account of opinions, both positive and negative.
• The Paris Volunteers network provides more than 60,000 members with the opportunity to train, get involved, and participate in the implementation of resilient, solidarity-based, and civic-minded actions.
• Under the leadership of the City of Paris, a number of citizen participation centers have been created, enabling the creation of new participatory and educational spaces: the Fabrique de la Solidarité, the Climate Academy, Quartier Jeunes, etc.
• Since 2011, the City of Paris has engaged in an open data initiative to publish on its website data produced by departments of the City and its partners.
• New citizen participation bodies have been created: the Parisian Council of Associations, the Citizen Assembly of Children, etc.

In 2023, a citizens’ vote initiative was introduced, with the regular organization of votes on subjects of interest to Parisians (scooters, SUVs, etc.).

What are the current challenges/areas for improvement in open government that the jurisdiction wishes to tackle?

The current challenges are to:

• Create a clear governance pact with Parisians
• Empower Parisians to take part in the political decision-making process
• Strengthen the ” Democracy of shared action “, with the possibility of getting involved and working close to home
• Promote inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... and training for all publics
• Propose democratic and innovative solutions to the climatic, environmental, economic, and social challenges our cities face.

What are the medium-term open government goals that the government wants to achieve?

4 goals are stated in the third action plan for the 2022-2026 period to:

• Create a citizen’s assembly with unprecedented decision-making powers for the City of Paris
• Develop two new digital platforms for greater transparency and improved integration of citizen participation
• Participate in strengthening European citizenship and understanding of European issues, at the heart of territorial action, in the context of the 2024 European electionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr...
• Co-construct a city climate democracy index in order to make a local diagnosis and take action to meet the challenges of citizen participation in climate matters with unprecedented competencies in the political decision-making process of the City of Paris

How does this action plan contribute to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision?

The objectives set out in this action plan are in line with the City of Paris’ open government goals:

• Create a clear governance pact with Parisians
• Empower Parisians to take part in the political decision-making process
• Strengthen the ” Democracy of shared action “, with the possibility of getting involved and working close to home
• Promote inclusion and training for all publics
• Propose democratic and innovative solutions to the climatic, environmental, economic, and social challenges our cities face.

How does the open government strategic vision contribute to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals?

• Promoting a cross-cutting and multisectoral approach to open government, which contributes to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals
• Creating and enhancing a common culture of citizen participation among the employees of the City of Paris.
• Strengthening the skills of the employees of the City of Paris in citizen participation and open government.

Engagement and Coordination in the Open Government Strategic Vision and OGP Action Plan

Please list the lead institutions responsible for the implementation of this OGP action plan.

• Office of Ms. Anouch Toranian, Deputy Mayor
• Office of Mr. Arnaud Ngatcha, Deputy Mayor
• General delegation of international relations (DGRI)
• Direction of Democracy, Citizen and Land (DDCT)
• Direction of Ecological Transition and Climate (DTEC)

What kind of institutional arrangements are in place to coordinate between government agencies and departments to implement the OGP action plan?

Ms. Anouch Toranian, deputy mayor in charge of community life, citizen participation, and public debate, and Mr. Arnaud Ngatcha, deputy mayor in charge of Europe, international relations, and the French-speaking world, are jointly responsible for the third action plan.

Several departments are involved in monitoring and implementing the arrangements (DGRI, Department of Democracy, Citizens and Territories – DDCT -, Department of Ecological Transition and Climate – DTEC).

What kind of spaces have you used or created to enable the collaboration between government and civil society in the co-creation and implementation of this action plan? Mention both offline and online spaces.

Each initiative was independently co-constructed in partnership with the City of Paris’ participative bodies and civil society stakeholders (associations, universities, citizens).

Co-creation of the initiatives was done through online consultations, citizen workshops, neighborhood councils, internal and external meetings, etc.

What measures did you take to ensure diversity of representation (including vulnerable or marginalized populations) in these spaces?

• Online consultations open to all
• Consensus conference whose conclusions were submitted to the Paris Council
• Citizen workshops
• Community Councils
• Participative bodies providing access to specific populations (e.g. young people, Europeans, associations, etc.)

Who participated in these spaces?

• City of Paris (directions, deputy mayor offices, Paris council political groups)
• Participative bodies of the city of Paris
• Associations
• Universities, researchers, and expert practitioners of deliberative processes
• Citizens who may or may not be members of participatory bodies

How many groups participated in these spaces?

4

How many public-facing meetings were held in the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive...?

40

How will government and non-governmental stakeholders continue to collaborate through the implementation of the action plan?

The two deputy mayors and the relevant administrative departments (DGRI, DDCT, DTEC), as well as various stakeholders, will monitor these implementations.

Please describe the independent Monitoring Body you have identified for this plan.

• TBC

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• TBC

What types of activities will you have in place to discuss progress on commitments with stakeholders?

• Meetings with stakeholders
• Paris Council presentations
• Written exchanges
• Q&A (frequent progress inquiries)

How will you regularly check in on progress with implementing agencies?

• Frequent exchanges of information between departments
• Visits/meetings
• Steering committees

How will you share the results of your monitoring efforts with the public?

• Communication on the City of Paris website (dedicated pages) and digital platforms dedicated to citizen participation
• Public meetings
• Exchanges within city networks
• Introduction of motions and discussions at the Paris City Council (broadcast live and  on the City of Paris website)

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• Citizen Assembly of the City of Paris
• Foundation for Innovation in Democracy Europe (FIDE)
• Parisian Council of Europeans
• Ace Observatory / Columbia university