4th report on administrative reform (France)

In France the pace of public administration reform (PAR) is sustained by the regular statements from the high-level (interministerial) committee on public service modernisation CIMAP. The fourth meeting on 18 December has provided a status report and a list of new initiatives, with a focus on policy evaluation rather than regulatory reform. Page 11 of the press release lists administrative simplification measures for business and the public, to be achieved without legal changes. The Finance ministry also published on 16 December a short note on "complexity as perceived by business" and a series of graphs in ppt format. These documents confirm that the French approach to administrative burdens remains based on perception surveys rather than measurement operations. Another specific trait of French PAR is the priority given to improving internal communication with staff. This is the analysis developped by Acteurs Publics, an independent observer, of the new web-based consultation of stakeholders Faire-simple.gouv.fr.