I totally agree with you. That's the reason why Attali's proposal to get rid of the départements was doomed to fail: to many politicians are opposed to this reform.

The only way to achieve such a reform is to empower the regions and the communities of municipalities (like urban communities or "pays"). One way to do so would be to elect the executive bodies of these communities through universal suffrage. Taken in a "pincer" between two local authorities with a greater democratic legitimacy, the département would slowly fade away.

This reform was proposed in the first draft of the "Chevènement law", but it was dropped due to an intense lobbying of the conseillers généraux (elected representatives of the départements). The Socialist Party didn't have the political guts to maintain it.

"Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet