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Video length: 2 min
Does our country have too many civil servants? This is the opinion of Éric Ciotti, president of the Republicans, who declared that there had been “two million more public officials” for 30 years.
“For 30 years, we have had two million more public officials”, said Éric Ciotti, president of the Republicans, on Radio J on May 14. Is this figure correct? According to INSEE, 30 years ago, the number of public employees was just over 5 million. This includes civil servants but also non-permanent and private sector agents under contract with the State. At the end of 2023, there were almost 6 million, or 1 million more in 30 years, not two. “The number of public officials has followed the evolution of the population. Civil servants represent 1/5 of jobs in France”explains Noam Leandri, senior civil servant.
Eric Ciotti’s second concern: civil servants “produce standard”. In reality, the categories that have increased the most are not those that produce standards. Hospital or nursing home staff, for example, have increased in number over the past 10 years, in response to the aging of the population, and their role is not bureaucratic.