13 ways France aims to make using its state services less frustrating

France is set to bring in a series of measures to simplify and improve the quality of its state services in response to issues raised.

The aim is to reduce the number of complaints over the efficiency of public services.

Despite 71% of people who give feedback about using state services reporting positive points – according to the government’s Vie publique website – there are numerous complaints, which include: 

• Long processing and waiting times to receive documents (the most common, making up 35% of all complaints)

• The use of bureaucratic jargon

• The repetitive nature of some forms 

• Too many checks for simple procedures or requests

Read more: French residency permit delays: examples of problems faced

To combat these gripes, a plan was outlined in April 2024 over how to make state services run more smoothly, in the Inter-ministerial Committee for Public Transformation (Comité interministériel de la transformation publique). 

Various ministries which deal with public requests have committed to seven key changes, agreed upon in June, which are: 

• Reducing the timeframe for requests (to make and receive responses)

• Reducing the amount of paperwork

• Reducing the number of checks on people making requests

• To ‘be on the side’ of the person making requests

• To ‘trust’ the person making the request that their claims are true

• Improving the use of digital services, but also making them easier to understand

• Updating and simplify procedures on the side of civil servants

Read more: French bureaucracy: 12 ways your local France Services office can help

Changes to roll out until 2027

The government has therefore come up with 13 changes that will come into force progressively between now and 2027. 

Most are specific to a certain ministry, as opposed to wholesale changes across the board. 

However all will in theory speed up the time requests take and free up employees to work on other tasks, improving services overall.

The changes are: 

• Extending the use of online complaints for all simple offences (infractions simples) and the use of online complaints procedures

• Reducing recruitment times for the 14,000 new employees in the national education system

• Opening a single online home page/starting point for all of France’s 36 appeals courts

• Replacing the application for renewal of rights sent by disabled people to the maisons départementales des personnes handicapées with a simplified form;

• Simplifying the procedures for receiving aid for home renovations via the MaPrimeRénov’ schemes

• Simplifying the reimbursement procedure for meals taken by some public servants when working (mostly researches)

• Creating a platform to make it easier for farmers to make administrative demands

• Digitalising the process for local authorities to make investment grant requests – currently, around 40,000 are made per year

• Introducing a simplified medical assessment for people applying to join the Army Reserves in France

• Making it easier to obtain the Pass'Sport (a one-off payment to help younger people join a sports club) and improvements making sport accessible

• Reducing the number of grant application forms issued by the Ministry of Culture;

• Making it possible for French people living abroad to renew their passports remotely

• Helping public servants moving abroad to overseas territories, to speed up the process and help them get settled quicker 

Other changes may be announced later depending on how effective the measures above are. 

No direct changes are set to be made regarding applications for visas to visit France, or for visa/carte de séjour renewals for residents already in the country. 

Have you seen a change for the better when using public services in France? Send your feedback to feedback@connexionfrance.com