ABSTRACT
Metaphors of bureaucratic power in France abound, typified by references to an énarchie, to the ubiquitous influence of ‘technocracy’ and to the administrative state. In Chapter 6, we begin by setting out the legalistic context within which French politics and policy are conducted. We then study in some detail the recruitment of elites, the principal characteristics of the French civil service and the shifting boundaries between politics and the administration. We investigate elements of continuity, conflict and cohesion within the French state. We conclude by charting efforts since 1981 to reform the over-elaborate state and by considering whether there is a French-style New Public Management.
