A civil service suited to French reality
I don't look at the civil service the way many candidates do. At every moment of tension, the same talking points return. People bring up the number of civil servants. People talk about sweeping cuts. People are led to believe a country would do better simply by having fewer public employees.
I think that answer is too easy. France cannot be compared to just any country. It isn't limited to the mainland. It is present in Europe, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, and South America. It has to run schools, hospitals, roads, ports, airports, prefectures, security services, courts, and government offices across territories that are all very different from one another.
A rural town in the Jura, a suburban city, an island in French Polynesia, a town in French Guiana, a mountain village, or a territory struck by a cyclone do not have the same needs.
So the civil service cannot be managed with a stock phrase. My aim is not to belittle public servants. My aim is to let them do their jobs better.
Organizing public-sector work better
Today, too many civil servants spend their time redoing the same checks, requesting the same documents, fixing system errors, wrestling with overly heavy procedures, and calming users worn down by poorly designed processes.
That is not a good use of their time. When a civil servant has better tools, simpler rules, clearer responsibilities, and fewer needless round trips, they work better, suffer less, respond faster, and deliver a better service. And when civil servants work under better conditions, the public feels it immediately.
A clearer, more efficient public service
Peace for the French also runs through this. It runs through a town hall that responds better. Through a prefecture that processes requests faster. Through a hospital where staff spend more time treating patients and less time filling out forms. Through a school where the administration supports teachers instead of burdening them. Through a public service where everyone knows who does what, within what timeframe, and with what outcome.
I therefore want to reorganize public-sector work, not dismantle it. Needless tasks must be cut. People should not be asked for the same document three times over. Departments need to communicate better with one another. Civil servants need to be sent where their presence truly matters: in healthcare, in the justice system, in security, in public reception services, across the territories, in the overseas territories, in support for businesses, in the fight against fraud, and in local services.
Savings without damaging public service
That allows for savings, but not by weakening the service. Savings come because the work is better organized, with fewer mistakes, fewer delays, fewer lost files, less friction, fewer needless procedures, and less time wasted.
Easing the burden on civil servants to serve citizens better
My vision is simple: easing things for citizens who rely on public services starts with easing the burden on the civil servants who deliver those services. A country that respects its public servants is better placed to respect its citizens. A better-organized civil service means less stress for civil servants, less waiting for the French, less wasted spending for the State, and more trust in everyday life.