sometimes, i hate this country.

preface: france is a unitary state, meaning that all power flows from the central government. while there may be sub-national political entities, they must ultimately bow to the will of the national assembly. for example,  in many towns in france, the city hall is not just a symbol of the city and its council; it is, in fact, the central government’s office and the symbol of the republic in a municipality (ergo, the french end up at their city halls much more often than their canadian cousins).

this is unlike other countries, such as germany, switzerland, mexico, canada and the united states, which exist as federal states, meaning that their sub-national divisions such as provinces (and, occasionally, certain cities) operate independently of the central government’s authority.