Genesis & Ambition
The {R3} Project is not a political party. It is a laboratory of constitutional ideas aimed at redefining the French republican pact.
The Assessment
Since 1958, the Fifth Republic has concentrated power in Paris. While this centralisation enabled post-war reconstruction, it is today a brake on innovation and creates a major territorial divide.
The Proposal
We propose the transition to a Federal Republic composed of 25 autonomous regions. Each with its own parliament, its own budget and its own legislative authority in everyday domains (Health, Education, Transport).
The Method
This site presents the results of our economic and sociological simulations. It acts as a "Feasibility Report" open to public debate.
Constitutional architecture
Level I — The Federal State
The federal state retains sovereign powers: defence, foreign policy, borders, currency, baseline civil law and constitutional justice. It is governed by a bicephalous executive (Federal President + Prime Minister) and a bicameral Parliament comprising the National Assembly (lower chamber, direct suffrage) and the Senate of the Regions (upper chamber, German Bundesrat model).
Level II — The 25 Autonomous Regions
Each of the 25 regions has a directly elected Regional Parliament, a government accountable to it, and its own budget funded by regional taxation. Regions legislate freely within their areas of competence — healthcare, education, regional transport, direct democracy — without being able to derogate from the federal constitutional framework.
Regional executives (Presidents and ministers) sit in the Senate of the Regions to co-legislate on federal laws affecting regional competences.
Level III — Municipalities
Municipalities retain their autonomy in managing local services — urban planning, civil registration, local services — within the framework set by their region. The principle of subsidiarity is enshrined in the Constitution: every power is exercised at the level closest to the citizen compatible with its effectiveness.
Division of powers
Indicative table of federal / regional division of powers. "Open question" items are points open to constitutional debate — they are not hidden.
| Domain | Federal | Regional | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign policy | Exclusive | — | Settled |
| National defence | Exclusive | — | Settled |
| Currency & Central bank | Exclusive (euro) | — | Settled |
| Borders & Immigration | Borders + Asylum | Quotas by referendum | Settled |
| Civil law (baseline) | Common framework | Limited adaptation | Settled |
| Justice & Courts | Federal constitutional court | Regional courts | Settled |
| Healthcare | Minimum standards | Organisation & funding | Settled |
| Education | Common national core | Curricula & management | Open question |
| Taxation | Federal tax | Regional income tax + shared VAT | Open question |
| Transport | TGV & aviation network | Regional network | Settled |
| Police & Security | Federal gendarmerie | Regional police | Open question |
| Direct democracy | Federal referendum | RIR (4% / 2%) | Settled |
Note: This table is a working tool, not a constitutional text. "Open question" items honestly reflect unresolved debate points. Contribute to the debate →
The Senate of the Regions — 93 votes
Composed of regional executives (Presidents and ministers), modelled on the German Bundesrat. The number of votes is degressive by population (3 to 6 votes per region). Source: INSEE, legal population 2022.
| Region | Population | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Île-de-France | 12 334 141 | 6 |
| Bretagne (Historique) | 4 852 350 | 5 |
| Provence | 4 485 575 | 5 |
| Dauphiné-Lyonnais | 4 191 760 | 5 |
| Flandre-Artois | 4 093 334 | 5 |
| Aquitaine (Guyenne-Gascogne) | 3 535 083 | 4 |
| Normandie | 3 325 522 | 4 |
| Toulousain-Pyrénées | 3 013 772 | 4 |
| Languedoc | 2 640 551 | 4 |
| Centre-Val de Loire | 2 573 303 | 4 |
| Poitou-Charentes-Vendée | 2 546 564 | 4 |
| Lorraine | 2 308 901 | 4 |
| Picardie | 1 961 039 | 3 |
| Alsace | 1 919 745 | 3 |
| Bourgogne | 1 608 090 | 3 |
| Anjou-Maine | 1 575 186 | 3 |
| Auvergne | 1 341 574 | 3 |
| Champagne Ardenne | 1 316 233 | 3 |
| Pays de Savoie | 1 295 572 | 3 |
| Franche-Comté | 1 180 827 | 3 |
| Pays Niçois-Côte d'Azur | 1 103 941 | 3 |
| Limousin | 724 672 | 3 |
| Pays Catalan | 482 765 | 3 |
| Corse | 347 597 | 3 |
| Alpes du Sud | 312 399 | 3 |
| Total — 25 regions | 93 | |
Degressive proportionality limits over-representation of large regions while guaranteeing every territory an effective voice. A majority requires 47 votes (≥ 50% + 1).
Objections & Answers
"Federalism will fragment and weaken France"
Germany, Switzerland and Austria are federal states and rank among the most cohesive and economically powerful in Europe. French centralisation has not produced unity: it has produced a documented territorial divide between the Paris metropolis and the rest of the country.
The R3 project maintains a strong federal state for sovereign powers. Regional autonomy applies only to everyday matters — where proximity improves the service delivered.
"Inequalities between rich and poor regions will explode"
Fiscal equalisation — redistribution of revenues between regions — is constitutionalised in R3, modelled on the German Länderfinanzausgleich. Autonomy does not mean abandoning less endowed territories.
History also shows that autonomy drives catch-up: the Eastern Länder gradually closed their gap by adapting policies to local realities.
"Small regions will not have the means for their ambitions"
The R3 division guarantees a minimum viable size (the smallest region has 312,000 inhabitants). Crucially, the transfer of competences comes with the transfer of corresponding resources — staff, budgets, infrastructure. Regions can also pool certain services at the inter-regional level.
"This is a disguised separatist project"
The R3 project does not eliminate France — it reorganises it. The federal state remains sovereign over defence, foreign policy, borders and currency. Regions are autonomous, not independent. French citizenship remains unique.
Confusing federalism with separatism is a category error: the United States, Canada and Germany are federal and perfectly integrated.