The Government continues to explore all the clues to find 40 billion euros in savings as part of the 2026 budget. The fall in the public service personnel mentioned on Sunday by the Minister of the Economy Éric Lombard.
A project confirmed by Amélie de Montchalin in the JDD. When asked about the increase in the number of public officials in recent years, the Minister of Public Accounts has announced that he wanted to “review this trend.” “We are going to ask, Ministry by Ministry, to review the recruitment needs, on the one hand, and the salary revaluations, on the other hand,” added while rejected “blind planning” and rather advocates “a massive reorganization of the state, to obtain more efficiency and more fever capacity.”
According to Insee, 5.8 million agents worked on public service at the end of 2023, or about 20% of total employment. It is 61,900 agents more than in 2022. An increase of 1.1% mainly driven by the increase in employment in the public service of the hospital (+1.9%). The administration rate for the three public functions is, therefore, 74 agents (excluding soldiers) per 1,000 inhabitants.
A 23% increase since 1997
During the long period, public employment has grown significantly. The number of public officials in 2022 was higher in “1,055,000” to that “from the end of 1997, which corresponds to a 23% increase, while the workforce in the private sector increased by 18% and the population by 14% during this period,” said the François Escalle Fincois site, an expert in public finances last year.
In detail:
- State Public Service personnel (2.5 million) increased from 7% from 1997 to 2022,
- Those of the Territorial Public Service of 46% (1.94 million)
- and those of the public service of the hospital of 36% (1.21 million).
The greatest increase in public employment was observed between 1997 and 2002 (+386,000) before a slowdown in the following years (+329,000 between 2002 and 2007, +145,000 between 2012 and 2017).
The number of public officials later recovered from 178,000 during the first mandate of Emmanuel Macron between 2017 and 2022. However, the Head of State had pledged to eliminate 120,000 officials before saying it to himself ready to renounce this objective “if not sustainable.” During this period, the increase in personnel was 96,000 in the public service, 45,000 in local communities and 38,000 in hospitals.
The Auditors Court is directed to the Territorial Public Service
Last year, the Auditors Court has already recommended cutting public service staff. And more precisely in the territorial public service.
In April, Prime Minister François Bayrou had a fist on the table in a circular aimed at members of the Government. The Tenant of Matignon deplored the slide of the payroll of the public service agents that reached 107 billion euros in 2024, an increase of 6.7% mainly due to categorical measures.
“Under the year 2024, the categorical measures resulted in an increase of 3,700 million euros in the State Salary bill,” they could be read in this document and represent an “significantly higher loans than the one dedicated to general measures.” Hence the request of the Prime Minister to “respect the budget envelopes” and “limit the increases in the following financial years.”
Source: BFM TV
