Public Management Reform in France

Abstract

Public sector reform (la réforme de l’Etat) is today a significant—although not dominant—theme of public debate in France. It is nonetheless an ambiguous term, denoting both change and modernization in public administration. The theme of public sector reform resurfaces periodically, with varying levels of intensity. Often, it is put forward as a slogan supposedly embodying a miracle solution for the ills besetting French society. The aspiration may be strong, but the specifics are usually lacking: there is little in the way of structured analysis, systematic vision, or comprehensive solutions. It is a theme of discussion only in the media and in intellectual and political circles. For the average citizen, public sector reform is of little genuine interest other than at the level of routine denunciations of “waste” and bureaucratic conservatism.