Constitutional amendments allowing for the devolution of power to the country's 22 regions and 96 departments were approved by parliament in March.

BBC News Online's Alexandra Fouch� looks at what this wide-ranging reform will mean for France.

What does Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin want to do?

Mr Raffarin has changed the first article of France's constitution saying that it is an "indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic", to add that "its organisation is decentralised".

He wants to transfer areas of responsibilities from a national to a local level - particularly where finances are concerned - and let local authorities "experiment" over a period of five years with new ideas on subjects such as further education or transport structures.

CORSICA Population: 260,000 Capital: Ajaccio Main exports: Cheese, fruit, wine, olive oil, tobacco Major languages: French (official), Italian, Corsican Click here to read Corsica profile

Under the law, local authorities can become directly responsible for economic development, national roads, tourism, culture and further education.

Local authorities will also be able to redefine their own boundaries by adding new departments in a region or getting rid of departmental boundaries altogether.

They will also be able to hold referendums at local level - the idea being that people will be consulted and have more of a say in local decisions.

"Decentralisation is not just to do with experts and elected representatives alone," Mr Raffarin says. "The Republic belongs to everyone, this is why we are attached to the idea of local referendums: citizens must be given a platform."

Why is decentralisation a priority of Mr Raffarin's government?

After the last election, with one of the lowest turnouts ever and a shock breakthrough for the far right, it became clear that French voters were severely disenchanted with the way they were ruled.

Analysts say Mr Raffarin sees devolution of power away from the seat of government in Paris as the key to solving that problem.

One of the reasons Mr Raffarin was chosen as the country's new prime minister after the recent general elections is believed to be that he is ostensibly not one of the political elite the French seem to mistrust so much.

For one thing, he spent much of his career outside Paris.

For another, he did not go to ENA (Ecole Nationale d'Administration), the prestigious administration school which has come under fire from right-wing deputies during the debate over Mr Raffarin's project.

Mr Raffarin insists devolution is a matter of national importance.

"It is important for the renewal of the Republic and for our capacity to blast stumbling blocks in our country," he says.

Is the proposed reform popular?

One critic says the reform is Mr Raffarin's new obsession and amounts to "decentralising fundamentalism".

Other critics - some of them in Mr Raffarin's own party - are worried that if the reform goes too far, it might leave France's Republic in tatters, particularly now that the European Union provides a new framework for autonomous regions.

President Jacques Chirac himself sounded the alarm, saying the reform "will take some time to bear any fruit as it does not speak directly to the French people". Many analysts interpreted that as a warning to Mr Raffarin to focus on more pressing matters.

But Mr Raffarin argues that delegating power will leave the central state better able to concentrate on issues such as law and order or pensions.

There are also those who are worried that the reform will generate new costs and ultimately more local taxes which would not go down well with the voters.

What will it mean for Corsica?

The new law's first major impact will be a referendum on greater autonomy for Corsica, in the form of a new unified assembly with some limited powers to raise and spend taxes.

If approved, this will replace the current departmental councils in the north and south of the island.

But despite backing from the government and President Chirac, a Yes vote in the referendum is by no means a foregone conclusion.

Many Corsicans fear that the devolution of even very limited powers would play into the hands of extreme nationalists who have been waging a low-level bombing campaign on the island for decades.

Some local politicians are also worried that the new law will cost them their jobs and pensions.

Is it the first time this type of reform has been attempted?

Decentralisation is an old chestnut in French politics and makes regular appearances on the political scene.

France has traditionally been a very centralised country. Ever since Louis XIV, credited as the founder of the modern French state, most decisions have been made in the French capital.

There have been attempts in the recent past to correct that state of affairs.

As long ago as in 1969, President Charles de Gaulle had a stab at it as part of a referendum which failed and led the general to quit government.

The incoming socialist government had another go in the early 1980s, which involved some degree of devolution.