The role of the French state: Shifting from supporting large tourism projects like Disneyland Paris to a diffusely forceful presence

Abstract

The French state, in its role as legislator, has sustained relations of production within the French economy because space can be selectively configured to promote economic, social, and environmental community goals. It tries to avoid that public value be held captive to private value or that developers bypass environmental legislation. In a country where the state is in the habit of regulating everything, it is not surprising that it should have taken charge of tourism projects. This paper will determine whether the relationship between public and private enterprise in tourism development in France, where the government has systematically encouraged such partnerships, has been successful. The paper will also show whether leadership provided by the public sector in areas not necessarily focused on tourism development is what helped push France among the most visited countries in the world. Decentralisation policy has driven the state to the backstage where it remains active to ensure the continued presence of France on the international scene. Although it is tempting to advocate a particular form of governance in supporting tourism development, most forms have evolved within specific contexts and would be resistant to radical transformations. A careful scrutiny of specific examples helps to illustrate possible effective changes.