What is the purpose of citizen participation?

Citizen participation in decision-making processes, particularly concerning environmental issues, has been a constitutional right since the Charter for the Environment was incorporated into the Constitution. Citizen participation is essential to the proper functioning of democracy because it enriches and expands its daily practice: by giving individuals the means to make their voices heard and to exchange their individual opinions in order to draw common lessons, citizen participation allows them to contribute to the development of decisions concerning policies and projects that impact their daily lives.

Citizen participation enables citizens to become genuine actors in the development of public policies. It strengthens the link between citizens and public decision-makers and enhances the transparency of public action.

Finally, citizen participation (also often referred to as consultation) is an essential condition for the implementation of just transitions, whether ecological, economic, or social. By bringing together all those affected by a decision, citizen participation confronts different viewpoints which, through structured dialogues, help shape the public interest. It is within these exchanges that citizens best understand the constraints and opportunities presented by public action. Through structured dialogue, citizen participation allows those involved to learn, engage in dialogue, and co-create a shared future.

Citizen participation, to fulfill its promises, must be organized according to a debate strategy that mobilizes different methods and uses various tools. Each dialogue process must be designed, organized, and implemented specifically, according to its objectives.

Within debate strategies, there are different ways to integrate citizens from all walks of life into dialogue processes: workshops, participatory surveys, and urban walks, which are primarily found in "open" consultations, classic forms of citizen participation.

Other forms of citizen participation exist, often called "mini-publics." These are deliberative mechanisms that bring together a more or less significant number of participants, most often selected by lot. By creating these mini-publics, the aim is to gather a sample of people who illustrate the diversity of a larger population. Citizen conventions or assemblies, citizen juries, and citizens' conferences are sophisticated forms of mini-publics that allow for in-depth dialogue within the framework of citizen participation. Members of deliberative bodies formulate proposals by answering questions or analyzing draft public policies after receiving in-depth information and engaging in discussions with experts, stakeholders, or those who have witnessed these policies. The Citizens' Convention for Climate is a well-known example of a "mini-public." The results of the deliberative bodies' work are then presented to decision-makers, who study them and then provide feedback to the participants, indicating how their recommendations have been taken into account.

More broadly, technology offers an additional channel for fostering citizen participation, particularly through digital consultation platforms such as Jenparle, allowing many citizens to express themselves online and contribute their views.

The creation of online consultation platforms has broadened the range of tools for citizen participation. These platforms, such as Jenparle, bring new dimensions to participation by complementing on-the-ground initiatives through a simple internet connection.

Online citizen participation strengthens local initiatives.