Purpose: Launched in 2014, the participatory budget is a democratic initiative that allows Parisians to directly decide on a portion of the future investments in their city. Since its launch, its operation has regularly evolved to take account of the new expectations of residents and to encourage the participation of as many people as possible.
Stimulus: The participatory budget is an integral part of the City of Paris' investment budget. It allows a participatory decision to be taken on some of the investments to be made: residents propose projects and then vote on those to be implemented. While some of the residents' ideas make it possible to implement unprecedented and innovative projects, others relate to expenditure that is already regularly programmed by the City (renovation of schools, libraries, etc.): putting these projects to the vote allows Parisians to prioritise them (for more information, see the Programme Charter).
Process: The participatory budget aims to encourage citizens to take part in the process of developing, reflecting on and deciding on public policies, beyond the mere electoral period. Drawing on their experience and knowledge of needs, the City of Paris offers residents the opportunity to propose concrete projects to transform their neighbourhood or city, to associate themselves with ideas they consider desirable, and to vote for or against proposals put forward by other participants.
- Submission of ideas
Anyone living in Paris, from the age of 7 and without any nationality requirement, can submit one or more ideas to the Participatory Budget. Ideas can be proposed individually or collectively (association, group of neighbours, friends, parents or pupils from the same establishment, etc.). Ideas can be submitted online all year round on the Décider pour Paris platform, on the scale of a arrondissement for locally implemented projects, or throughout Paris for large-scale projects.
2. Analysis of the ideas
Each idea submitted is studied by the City of Paris services. The first step is to check that the idea meets the eligibility criteria for the participatory budget:
- Be in the general interest
- Fall within the field of competence of the City of Paris
- Not run counter to the objectives of combating climate change and promoting solidarity
- onstitute an investment expense that does not generate excessive operating expenses for the City of Paris.
3. Vote on the ideas
Voting is open to all Parisians aged 7 and over, regardless of nationality. The voter expresses his or her opinion both on the ideas put to the vote at the level of the whole of Paris and on the ideas put to the vote in the arrondissement of his or her choice.
4. Implementation of the winning projects
The ideas selected by the people of Paris become projects implemented by the City of Paris. Their funding is decided when the initial budget is voted on each year by the Paris City Council. Each project is implemented according to its own timetable and resources. As far as possible, the people behind these projects are invited to take part in their implementation through participatory building projects.
Impact: Each year, at the beginning of autumn, the winning ideas are announced following a vote by the people of Paris. The ideas then become projects. Their funding is approved by the Paris City Council in December, at the same time as the vote on the City of Paris budget. The funds are then released and the projects can be implemented! It is the City of Paris that orchestrates the implementation of the projects; they thus become projects carried out by the City. As the proposer of a project, you may be asked to contribute to its implementation. This request is not systematic.
Key reference documents:
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General information page (in French)
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Communication kit PB 2023 (in French)
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Table of budget allocations by district (PDF) (in French)
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2023 guide for submitting ideas (PDF) (in French)
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In some neighbourhoods, associations help people submit their ideas (PDF) (in French)
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2023 campaign guide (PDF) (in French)
