It is a national cause, decreed by the Prime Minister during his general policy declaration: debureaucratize France.
The agricultural crisis had the merit of revealing the incredible pile of rules and obligations under which farmers are burdened.
Just like business leaders.
And the citizens themselves, battered by the torments of unparalleled administrative refinement.
The conditions for granting MaPrimeRénov', aid for the rehabilitation of housing, have thus been modified on average every four months since 2020... As for the form to request the RSA, it was obviously designed for doctoral students in administrative law .
Former minister Alain Lambert, in 2013, estimated the number of standards existing in France at 400,000.
Our entomologist had noted some pearls: a standard which defines the curvature of the cucumber, another which imposes anti-seismic measures in cities like Le Mans which has not seen an earthquake since the Upper Cretaceous.
“Entrusting state reform to a financial inspector is like asking an alcoholic to clean out the wine cellar.
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The most striking, over a long period, is the litany of initiatives taken by successive governments to try to defeat this monster: state reforms, simplification shocks and other vast jokes.
But the heads of the Lernaean hydra always grow back.
No doubt because the task is assigned to senior officials.
Entrusting state reform to a financial inspector is like asking an alcoholic to clean out the wine cellar.
And if by chance a normally constituted mind takes the risk – business leader Guillaume Poitrinal and Minister Thierry Mandon did so, under the Hollande presidency – he must stock up on antidepressants.
There is of course a French bias here.
For us, the State is the only guardian of the general interest.
Also the rules he decrees are always welcome, to thwart private interest, suspect by nature among a jealous people.
This fault continues with the fury over legislation that rages among our politicians.
During a parliamentary session of approximately 85 days, the Assembly passes 60 to 70 laws – almost one per day!
With absurdities like the Descrozaille law, which regulates promotions on cleaning products, passed unanimously in 2023, then targeted by criticism from the deputies themselves, who regretted their vote... All this without counting the hundreds of decrees and prescriptions issued in a continuous stream.
Common sense would require thinking before legislating.
Or even, let's be crazy, to audit the existing corpus of texts a priori, to avoid repetitions and contradictions.
The proliferation of independent authorities responsible for health, food or ecological transition (which offers a vast new field for regulation) has only made things worse.
The State, under the guise of disengaging, is making small moves.
The same goes for committees and commissions, always prolix in recommendations.
Tuesday, Gabriel Attal announced the elimination of committees which have not met for twelve months.
Why not.
It would have been more useful to remove those who meet!
Finally, if the problem is getting worse, it is also because the weight of the State in the economy continues to increase.
At nearly 60% of public spending in GDP, there is no longer a sector that does not depend more or less on the administration and its rules.
Even provincial taxis have become civil servants, drawing most of their income from medical transport paid for by Social Security.
French normative madness is only the other side of growing state control.
Treating the consequence without addressing the cause is guaranteed failure.