After the Conseil d'Etat last week (see previous post), another senior body published yesterday its in-depth analysis of the Agency phenomenon under the title "The State and its Agencies", which is rich in public governance insights and is causing a national debate. The Inspection Générale des Finances had tabled its report in March, but it had been shelved because of the presidential election campaign and has just been released. Adopting a wider definition, the report finds 1244 agencies, under a multitude of statuses (including the categories excluded by the Conseil d'Etat, "operators" and independent regulators). The report is severe as to the proliferation of such agencies, chiefly because it cannot identify any real efficiency gain from such a solution. Among the 35 recommendations in the report, those related to the waste of public finance will be urgently addressed by a government which is currently looking for savings totalling some € 30 bn. The ministers in charge of finance and budget have also jointly announced that a review of government action will be launched in coming weeks to produce a global strategy of modernisation and reform of the State.
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