FRENCH LIBERAL SCHOOL ON THE PROBLEM OF ADMINISTRATIVE DECENTRALIZATION IN FRANCE IN THE 50–60’s YEARS XIX CENTURY

The article attempts to analyze the political and legal views of representatives of the French liberal school on the problem of administrative decentralization in France in the 50–60's. XIX century. During the Second Empire, a hierarchical centralized power vertical was created. As a consequence, in the 60-ies. XIX century. in France, the struggle for decentralization unfolded. The basic postulates of the administrative reform were formulated in the “Nansi program”. Liberal-minded thinkers of the time, among which the most famous were L.-A. Prevos-Paradol, E. Laboulaye and J. Simon joined the requirements set forth in the Nansi Program. In their works, they paid considerable attention to the need for administrative reforms in France, which, on the one hand, would limit the powers of the central government, and on the other hand, give more initiative and freedom to local authorities. The article considers general theoretical views of representatives of the liberal school on the relationship between the concepts of centralization and decentralization, power and freedom, as well as specific proposals for reforming the administrative and territorial structure of France, which should provide significant changes in local governance. The main principle and, at the same time, the first condition for reforming the administrative system, according to L.-A. Prevost-Paradole and J. Simon, was the holding of free elections of officials, and municipal freedoms should be based on two grounds (like, in general, freedom): initiative and responsibility. The article notes that some of the ideas proposed by the French liberals were subsequently realized in the first decades of the Third Republic.