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last mo.

French Assembly Backs Plan to Create a Single Alsace With Regional Powers

The bill now faces Senate scrutiny with constitutional questions unresolved.

Franck Leroy, Président de la Région Grand Est, sur la proposition de loi sur la sortie de l’Alsace au siège de la région à Strasbourg, le 31 mars 2026.
L'Assemblée nationale, le 8 avril 2026.
La proposition de loi examinée à l'initiative de Gabriel Attal visait à revenir sur une réforme funeste, celle qui a instauré en 2015 les « grandes régions ».
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Overview

  • The National Assembly, which approved the bill Wednesday by 131 to 100, relied on support from President Macron’s group, the National Rally and allies of Éric Ciotti as the left opposed it.
  • The measure would turn the European Collectivity of Alsace into one special-status authority holding both departmental and regional powers, with a planned start at the March 2028 regional elections.
  • Lawmakers added an ecologist amendment for a local referendum to validate the change, even though the rapporteur warned that conditioning a new institution on a later vote could breach the Constitution.
  • Opponents in the chamber said the plan lacks cost estimates and could create a giant administrative mess, while backers framed it as meeting a strong local desire for a distinct Alsatian institution.
  • The proposal now moves to the Senate with an uncertain timeline, reviving a debate rooted in the 2015 merger into Grand Est and a 2013 referendum that failed due to low turnout and a no in Haut-Rhin.