일본과 프랑스의 기초자치단체 개혁사례 비교분석

This article aims to analyze comparatively and interpret critically the recent innovation experience on primary local governments system in Japan and French, and to give some academic and practical implications for revising the primary local governments system in Korea. In French, there have been, to deal with problems of depopulated regions, coalition apparatuses in diverse levels of Commune besides merger between primary local governments. And, Japan has also implemented some self-reliance promotion policies for depopulated regions in addition to mergers of them. It seems that the experience from these two countries can give some useful implications for revision of local administration system, especially for primary local governments. However, as the local governments system of Korea has distinctive characteristics comparing to ones of Japan and French, revision of primary local governments system should be approached in somewhat different manner. Thus, this article emphasizes both the structural approach such as integration and merger, and the operational approach such as establishment of coalition body in some functional area.