for the collective “Our public services”, the deterioration is explained by the “fall in the number of civil servants”

For Lucie Castets, co-spokesperson for the “Nos services publics” collective, invited on Monday April 17 on franceinfo, the deterioration in access to public services is explained by the “fall in the number of civil servants” and the “loss of attractiveness” for these jobs. She reacted to the annual report of the Defender of Rights, increasingly seized by citizens on this lack of access. This degradation is explained in particular by a dematerialization of the procedures which “if it is not well supervised, leads to the exclusion of the most vulnerable from public services”according to the co-spokesperson.

franceinfo: You are not surprised by this finding?
Lucie Castets: No not at all. Previous reports have shown that this dematerialization, if not well supervised, leads to the exclusion of the most vulnerable from public services. There is an overall lack of resources in public services and these are sometimes the only services accessible to the most vulnerable. The lack of means therefore weighs even more heavily on those who are dependent on the public service.

Do you make a connection between these numerous complaints and the fall in the number of civil servants?
The link is absolutely direct. The drop in the number of civil servants can be explained structurally by the legal texts adopted which constrain public employment and, more generally, public expenditure. There has been a reduction in expenditure related to the recruitment of civil servants and public officials. Today, we also see a very great decline in the attractiveness of the public service: few positions are opened and we cannot fill them.

What makes our public services find it increasingly difficult to fulfill their missions?
The purpose of public service is to serve the public and meet the needs of citizens. The growing dissatisfaction, which seems justified to me, about the deterioration of the public service is a good indicator to tell us that there is a difficulty. Often, the development of digital technology and the digitization of procedures justify a reduction in staff and, in reality, we realize that this is what deteriorates access to public services. For what ? Because part of the population is not able to handle digital tools, either because it does not have the skills or the equipment or no connection. So what we are defending is the existence, always, of a quality alternative to digital. I think that the Covid crisis and the ecological crisis are giving rise to a great need for public power and a love for public services in the population.