The Elysée defends the disputed reform of the Quai d’Orsay
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This was one of Emmanuel Macron’s intentions before the ambassadors gathered at the Elysee Palace on Thursday 1er September: attempt to appease the rebellion of diplomats aroused by the overhaul of the senior civil service, carried out with drum beating under the aegis of the Elysée. Over the course of a two-hour speech, the Head of State multiplied his thanks and encouragement to the profession. Several times he said his ” trust “ towards an administration, of which many executives complain in private of being marginalized, even despised, by the Elysée.
On the merits, however, Emmanuel Macron has given up nothing. He sought to defend the overhaul of the high hierarchy of the Quai d’Orsay initiated a year ago, with the extinction of two bodies, that of foreign affairs advisers and that of plenipotentiary ministers. Like prefects or finance inspectors, their members are invited by the end of 2023 to join a new interministerial body, that of State administrators.
If various guarantees have been given to them, such as the maintenance of the very selective competition from the East to recruit polyglot profiles, many diplomats fear to bear the cost of this competition with professionals from other administrations. “The diplomatic career is built over the years and positions in Paris and abroad, we are not interchangeable”explained an official, during the exceptional strike organized on June 2 against the project. Some also fear the “politicization” appointments to the most prominent positions, to the detriment of career diplomats.
To appease the spirits, knowing he was expected on the issue, Mr. Macron made two announcements. On the one hand, States General of Diplomacy will be organized under the authority of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna. One way to respond, probably by early next year, to one of the demands of critics of the reform. On the other hand, one hundred positions (full-time equivalents) will be created next year within the ministry, for the first time in three decades, argued the President of the Republic.
A “more agile, more expert, stronger” diplomacy
“This reform is good for the Quai d’Orsay”pleaded the Head of State, while acknowledging the ” trouble “ it arouses within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his eyes, the work in progress will make it possible to move towards diplomacy “more agile, more expert, stronger”, which he calls for. There is therefore no question of giving it up, as claimed by some of the critics of the reform. “Defending a profession has never meant defending a body”, asserted the president in front of the ambassadors. This reform will allow“aggregate the profession of diplomat with extremely specialized skills in social networks, technologies, epidemiology”he explained.
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