Economic Reforms in France - the new public service reform highly challenged

On March 27th, 2019, the draft law on the reform of the French Civil Service was presented to the Council of Ministers. The objective targeted by the government through this reform is to "build the public service of the 21st century, more flexible, more open and more attractive, with more efficient public services and closer to the territories. "

This presentation comes in the wake of the submission of a report issued by the General Inspectorate of Finance, which underlined, among other things, the fact that 30% of civil servants have an active working time below the legal duration of 35 hours per week.

According to the French government, the implementation of this reform will cut about 30,000 civil servant positions by 2022 and will save about 30 million Euros. The goal is not just economic – it will also facilitate the mobility of public servants and interactions with the private sector while maintaining several benefits to civil servants. 

However, this bill has not been unanimously well-received, particularly among unions and associations of public servants who believe that the legislation needs several amendments. According to these groups, the power of the trade unions will be weakened, and see the government encouraging the use of external or contracted service providers, which they believe, in the long run, will be detrimental.

The vote is scheduled for the end of the first semester of this year. In the meantime, trade unions are planning a series of demonstrations throughout the country to make their voices heard while the government shows more than ever its willingness to complete this reform.

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