The conservative leaders of the Pays de la Loire region favor a big western region with Brittany

Le Conseil régional des Pays de la Loire se réunit le 13 mai en session extraordinaire pour discuter de son avenir. Ses membres de droite viennent de se rencontrer et veulent préserver l'intégrité de la région. Ils demandent l'organisation d'un référendum à propos du projet gouvernemental de redécoupage régional. 

The conservative decision-makers of the Pays de la Loire region do not want to see that one be dismantled by the reform of territorial authorities the French socialist government announced a few weeks ago. That hypothesis, not unlikely, which will be debated on May 13th by the members of the Conseil régional. The conservative members of that authority, and among them Christophe Béchu, Angers mayor, share the same opinion of the president of the region, the socialist Jacques Auxiette who absolutly rejects the dismemberment of the Pays de la Loire.

The conser-vative regio-nal leaders consider the government is implemen-ting a pure political operation but they nevertheless admit that the setting up of a big western region is "an option to examine very seriously" and suggest that they would prefer a merger with Brittany. But, the political representatives sets two conditions : the five departments constituting the Pays de la Loire region must stay together and the future of that authority has to be submitted, through a referendum, to its inhabitants.

The conservative leaders of those five departments demanded a clear distribution of competences between the future regional authority and the current Conseils généraux they want to be maintained. But it is not sure the preference of the conservative representatives for an union between Pays de la Loire and Brittany comes up with the wishes of the Pays de la Loire inhabitants. If some of them in Loire-Atlantique may prefer a merger with Brittany, others, like those of Sarthe or Maine-et-Loire, may prefer to go towards the Centre region but the Mayenne leaders are against that perspective. The Vendée leaders do not want to go in Poitou-Charentes.